jessibud2 follows a Path Paved with Books

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jessibud2 follows a Path Paved with Books

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1jessibud2
Modifié : Déc 24, 2015, 5:24 pm

or maybe I should say clears a path *through* the books...)

Here I go again. I am going to try to track the NF group challenge and my bookcrossing/LT TBR group challenge in this one thread. Maybe I'll have better luck in 2016 than I had in 2015. I may even manage to read a few crossover books that will fit into more than one category. I certainly have enough to choose from!

2jessibud2
Modifié : Déc 25, 2015, 9:29 am

75 in 2016:


Canadian Reads/TBR Challenge:


Non-Fiction Challenge:


3PaulCranswick
Déc 26, 2015, 2:40 am

Great to see you back Shelly.

4jessibud2
Déc 26, 2015, 7:06 am

>3 PaulCranswick: - Thanks, Paul. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday organizing the books I am planning to read for each of the challenges. I have 3 lovely baskets in which I place my chosen books and hopefully, I will get through those without straying off my own path! We shall see...!

5SqueakyChu
Modifié : Déc 26, 2015, 4:06 pm

Dropping a star to my fellow BC buddy! :)

Are you going to put your BC ticker here as well? You can have the same ticker on more than one thread.

6jessibud2
Déc 26, 2015, 5:36 pm

>5 SqueakyChu: - Hmm, I don't know what I am doing, actually, just yet. I am trying to see if I can juggle everything on one thread because I found I was copying the same comments and reviews from one to the other this year. The BC challenge I have committed myself to is this one: http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/6/526188

I think I am going to try to take as many of my reads for that one from my actual BC TBR stack as I can manage although I am also liking the monthly organization of the LT BC thread, for the focus it provides. We'll see how it shakes down. I can always add another ticker if I feel I need it. For some reason, I had a difficult time adding the 3 I have up there now. The first 2 took right away but when I tried adding the third, it kept repeating the first, even after logging out and logging back in. It took waiting another day but I did manage to get all three up there...!

7drneutron
Déc 26, 2015, 6:20 pm

Welcome back!

8jessibud2
Déc 26, 2015, 7:12 pm

>7 drneutron: - Thanks! :-)

9SqueakyChu
Déc 26, 2015, 7:17 pm

>6 jessibud2:

Oh, I was confused. There is also a BookCrossing Category challenge here on LibraryThing.

I had that same problem when trying to add more tickers. Eventually I was able to do it.

I don't like to cross-post the same message to more than one thread so I add all my comments and reviews on my 75 Books Challenge thread. The tickers I post to all of the challenges in a separate thread, though, merely to let others know I joined. I don't have time or desire to follow so many threads.

10jessibud2
Déc 26, 2015, 7:50 pm

>9 SqueakyChu: - Lol, I am a bit confused, myself, as per usual. I think I'll get a few books read, under my belt and then decide/figure out how and where to post them.

11SqueakyChu
Modifié : Déc 26, 2015, 7:55 pm

Sounds good to me!

Have you seen this?
http://www.librarything.com/groups/forbookcrossersredu1

12jessibud2
Déc 26, 2015, 8:01 pm

>11 SqueakyChu: - Hehe, just now started a thread of my own. I guess the next step is setting up a ticker, now that I'm committed. Or now that I *have* committed. ;-)

13SqueakyChu
Déc 26, 2015, 8:02 pm

...or now that I have committed you! :D

14jessibud2
Déc 26, 2015, 8:13 pm

I just noticed that I forgot to put 2016 in my thread title and I can't edit that in. I suppose it doesn't really matter though since we will all know what year we are in

15SqueakyChu
Déc 26, 2015, 8:29 pm

It doesn't matter.

Alternatively you could start a new thread and "red x" this one out if it matters all that much to you.

16jessibud2
Déc 27, 2015, 8:42 pm

HA! And tackle those tickers again in another thread? No way. I will just toodle along, and assume that the year will be self-evident, ;-)

17SqueakyChu
Déc 27, 2015, 10:30 pm

Haha!

18jessibud2
Modifié : Déc 29, 2015, 8:22 pm

Tentative Non-Fiction starts for January: Biography

finish: How Can I Keep From Singing, the bio of Pete Seeger
start and finish: Walter Gretzky On Family, Hockey and Healing so that I can pass it along to a fellow bookcrosser here in Toronto who reads ONLY non-fiction and loves hockey

19jessibud2
Modifié : Déc 29, 2015, 9:45 am

Tentative Canadian starts for January:

A) by location (for bookcrossing): Birding With Yeats by Lynn Thomson - British Columbia

B) for the CAC here on LT: Ru if I can snag a copy from the library within the month. Shouldn't be too difficult

20jessibud2
Déc 29, 2015, 11:46 am

HA! The book reader's dilemma, especially as we prepare for a new year of challenges!!!

http://www.unshelved.com/2015-12-28

21SqueakyChu
Déc 29, 2015, 11:57 am

22jessibud2
Déc 30, 2015, 6:09 pm

>19 jessibud2: - Well, that may not be as easy as I had thought. I dropped into the library this morning. I am now on the wait list for Ru. There are 154 people ahead of me!! Oh it will get to me, eventually, but it may not be in January!

23lkernagh
Déc 31, 2015, 10:32 pm

>22 jessibud2: - Wow.... 154 ahead of you? Please tell me the library has more than one copy.... ;-)

24jessibud2
Jan 1, 2016, 6:57 am

>23 lkernagh: - The Toronto Public Library system is huge and I would certainly like to think there are several copies floating around. It was the one thing I forgot to ask but I will, next time I am in (or check by myself online, if I can figure out how to do that). But considering that Ru won the Canada Reads award this past year, and how that usually generates a lot of interest in the contenders for that contest, I can't imagine there would be only one copy.

25msf59
Jan 1, 2016, 9:25 am

Happy New Year, Shelley! And Happy New Thread! I have been seeing you posting around lately and thought I better drop by and say hello.

Hope you have a good holiday and get some reading in.

26jessibud2
Jan 1, 2016, 9:41 am

>25 msf59: - Hi Mark! Thanks for the drop-in and happy new year to you, too! The only real goal for me is to improve on last year's accomplishments (such as they were!) :-)

27msf59
Modifié : Jan 1, 2016, 10:02 am

Have you been by the AAC thread? I hope you can join us, on a few American authors, through the reading year. I am sure you will attend the CAC.

28msf59
Modifié : Jan 1, 2016, 10:04 am

Here is a useful site, for learning how to post images and different cool things:

http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Basic_HTML_/_How_to_do_Fancy_Things_i...

It really is easy, once you get the hang of it.

29PaulCranswick
Jan 2, 2016, 11:04 am



Have a wonderful bookfilled 2016, Joanne.

30lindapanzo
Jan 4, 2016, 5:22 pm

Hi, it's nice to see fellow hockey and baseball fans on LT. If I'm not reading during the evening, I'm watching hockey and/or baseball, depending on the season.

Which teams do you follow? I'm a big fan of the Chicago Blackhawks and the Cubs.

31jessibud2
Jan 4, 2016, 9:14 pm

I don't like hockey anymore though I loved it as a kid. I am old enough to have grown up with the original 6, back in the days when they actually played hockey and fights were few and far between. These days, it seems to me that it's only fights, with a bit of hockey thrown in. I hate it. Besides, the Toronto Maple Leafs stink. I was born and brought up in Montreal, always loved the Canadiens. Always will though I haven't watched a hockey game in a million years.

I do love baseball, though and although my first love will always be the now-departed Expos, I am a die-hard Blue Jays fan. We will win it this year, you know! ;-)

32jessibud2
Modifié : Jan 5, 2016, 6:41 pm

#1 done! - On Family, Hockey and Healing by Walter Gretzky (yes, Wayne's dad). This was actually a better read than I expected. I remember hearing the news when Walter had a stroke, back in 1991 but never really knew much of what happened after that. This book was published 10 years after his stroke, and is his story of his early life, his years raising his family and of the stroke itself. But it is also a story of his long, arduous road to recovery, pieced together with the help of family, friends and his rehab therapist, (who, in fact, later became his son-in-law) because so much of his memory had been lost in the stroke. Having spent many years teaching kids with physical and cognitive disabilities, several of whom were ABI (acquired brain injuries), I found the details of Walter's rehab to be of particular interest. But truthfully, there is so much serendipity involved, the luck of having someone there at the moment who actually recognizes the symptoms, gets him to the hospital quickly and then, having the support system around him to provide the love, patience and intensive rehab necessary - so many people aren't that lucky. It's a great success story and Walter not only made a remarkable comeback, but continued his *new* life with renewed energy, devoting himself to helping others, coaching young kids, and doing charitable work for organizations such as the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. He is a natural storyteller and while parts of the book were heartbreaking, there were some truly hilarious moments, as well. He has such a natural positive nature, such integrity and humour, and fortunately, that was not diminished by the stroke. He ends the book reminding people of what the warning signs of stroke are, in the hope that education and awareness will help others reach the recovery that he was so fortunate to have had.

Edited to add: This isn't really pertinent to Walter Gretzky, but I thought it was interesting enough to include here, for fun. I remember awhile back, on one of the CBC radio archive shows, I heard an interview the late great radio host, Peter Gzowski, did with a then-13-year old Wayne Gretzky. The interview is about 20 minutes long but it's a fascinating bit of history, given what we now know transpired in the years to come. The year was 1974. Enjoy:

http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/1974-wayne-gretzky-rising-hockey-star

33kidzdoc
Jan 5, 2016, 5:58 pm

Great review of On Family, Hockey and Healing, Shelley.

34lindapanzo
Jan 5, 2016, 6:06 pm

>31 jessibud2: We go to games about once a month and I watch all the other Blackhawk games on TV. I can't remember the last time I saw a fight. About 10 to 20 years ago, we saw lots of fights but not as much anymore. Their style of play has really changed.

These current Hawks aren't like the old Hawks teams. Finesse nowadays, not physical play. Very few hits. Not as much "dump and chase" as in the past either, thankfully.

35jessibud2
Modifié : Jan 26, 2016, 11:27 am

>33 kidzdoc: - Thanks, Darryl

>34 lindapanzo: - It's been such a long time since I actually watched a hockey game, I doubt I could tolerate it now. Besides, here in Toronto, I'd probably have to put up with Don Cherry, one of the tv guys who is more obnoxious than I can stomach. No, give me baseball any day. My hockey fan days are over :-)

36lindapanzo
Jan 5, 2016, 6:52 pm

>35 jessibud2: Back about 10+ years ago, we were in Toronto, I think it was during the SARs epidemic. We went to the Hockey Hall of Fame, a Leafs game, Gretzky's restaurant, but one highlight was going to a ballgame. Actually, we went to two. One sitting inside the ballpark and the other, watching it from our hotel room overlooking the ballpark. Blue Jays games are fun.

I know what you mean about Don Cherry. We see him on Sat nights, loud suits and all, on Hockey Night in Canada, which is often broadcast here on NHL Network. My nephew, who is just learning about hockey and loves the Montreal Canadiens, was asking me recently about who that man with the ugly suits is. I rarely get to sit down and watch a game with him but we did so when I was visiting last week on New Year's Day. It was a celebration for his sister's birthday but we all watched the Winter Classic.

37jessibud2
Modifié : Jan 5, 2016, 9:20 pm

>36 lindapanzo: - The Wayne Gretzky restaurant is fun. Did you notice that the door handles are actually skate blades

I love the SkyDome. I have been at games when the roof is opening or closing. Takes around 20 minutes and is very cool to experience.

Don Cherry's mouth is as loud as his wardrobe, and just as unappealing, lol. ;-p

38jessibud2
Jan 8, 2016, 7:31 am

#2 done. Well, perhaps this is typical for me, to be a dissenting voice, but I am wondering what all the fuss is about, re: Ru. This isn't meant as a spoiler alert but if discussion of a book you haven't yet read is something that concerns you, then perhaps you can take it as that and read no further.

For one thing, I have to wonder why it is called a *novel*. To my mind, this is not a novel at all but rather an almost stream of consciousness collection of memories. I agree with those who found it disjointed; sometimes it flowed, other times, not at all, jumping back and forth in time with no apparent consistency. It was a quick enough read, though, with its format of very short pages (sometimes, only one paragraph per page), and no chapters. I am not a fan of short stories, as a rule, so maybe that also had something to do with why I don't agree with it being called a novel. There wasn't really a beginning, middle and end. There were times I did find the language to be lovely but in truth, most often, it just felt more like a running commentary of her memories of her homeland and her family. Oh well. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
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39SqueakyChu
Modifié : Jan 11, 2016, 2:08 pm

Hi Shelley! I see you're well incorporated into LT now. Great!! You're actually doing many more challenges than I do presently. However, I do have a good excuse for being so lax (babysitting).

I love that the BookCrossing challenge is a category challenge this year. That will definitely entice me to keep up.

I've never been a hockey fan. This past year, I've become somewhat of an avid soccer fan. I hope to be able to attend some professional games of DC United ( our local Washington, DC, team this coming year. In the meantime, I'm trying to catch some of the men's World Cup qualifying games. Sometimes it's hard to find them on television, though.

The Gretzky book sounds good. Ru sounds terrible! :)

40jessibud2
Jan 15, 2016, 8:18 pm

#3 - Love, Hope, Optimism An Informal portrait of Jack Layton by those who knew him.

It's hard to believe that it will be 5 years this summer since Layton has died. His star had finally risen to wonderful heights, he truly was the brightest star on the horizon, and then, within a couple of short months of his amazing victory in the elections, leading his party (NDP, the most left of Canada's 3 major parties), to the position of official opposition, he was forced to step down when the cancer he had fought previously (successfully, we thought), reared its ugly head again. He was gone before the summer was over.

What made Jack stand out in the crowd, and most especially in comparison to other politicians, was Jack himself. He was not a typical politician. He cut across party lines and in the stunned days following his death, the reality of that became startling clear. The plaza in front of Toronto's City Hall was suddenly covered in chalked messages of thanks, of grief, of hope. Covered. Thousands of spontaneous messages. And when they were all washed away by a heavy rainfall, they reappeared the next day. He was given a state funeral, something not usually given in Canada except for a Prime Minister. At his funeral, the speakers who read were from 4 different religions, and different walks of life. And the essays in this book speak to that very fact: not one person, regardless of whether they shared Jack's politics or not, had a bad word to say about him. Literally, not one. Every single contributor in this book spoke of how Jack's credo, in his public and in his private life, was never to speak ill of anyone; he gave his full attention and energy to all. His smile was genuine, his concern for the underdog, the marginalized, the needy, was his raison d'etre. He started as a local organizer, an activist for causes he believed in, he taught university for many years and then moved naturally into politics, first municipal then federal. He was an accomplished musician, had been a competitive swimmer in his youth, and he rode his bicycle everywhere.

I never met Jack Layton although we lived in the same city. I did vote for him, though, both in his unsuccessful bid to be mayor, as well as federally. Like so many others, I felt truly bereft when he died. He was only 61 years old, with so much promise ahead of him. But what he accomplished in his lifetime, and the legacy he left, was astounding. The title of this book comes from the last lines of the last letter he wrote to Canadians, written just days before his death and published just after. Reading this book drives home all the more what we lost.

41kidzdoc
Jan 16, 2016, 4:01 am

Nice review of Love, Hope, Optimism, Shelley. From your comments it sounds as though Canada is a poorer place without him.

42jessibud2
Modifié : Jan 17, 2016, 8:04 pm

#4 - The Romanov Sisters by historian Helen Rappaport, narrated by Xe (pronounced as the names of those 2 letters! quirky!) Sands. It was a long read (12 discs long) but really well worth the time. I also did something I have rarely done with audios: I got the actual book out of the library and for the last half or so, followed along in the book as I listened (in the house, not in the car!)

I originally got the book because there were some Russian words thrown in and pronunciations I did not know and couldn't look them up because I couldn't figure out how they were spelled. I needed to see them in print. But the book also has 16 pages of photos that I'd never have seen otherwise. I also noticed that the many footnotes in the book are not read on the audio version, which is understandable as I'm sure it would be disruptive to the flow of the narrative. So I am quite happy I did this. Besides, I like reading the acknowledgments at the end of the book! Also, it was sometimes difficult to follow the exhaustive cast of characters, especially when so many of them had the same first names. The book provided 5 pages of names, describing who was who. That was helpful!

The book covers a fair bit of the history of the day as well as background history. But the story is really the story behind the headlines, of the daily lives of the Romanov family and is based almost entirely on actual personal letters, diaries, journals, archival sources and private collections. Rappaport did exhaustive research and it shows. Every member of the family wrote letters and diaries constantly and those reveal their hopes, insecurities, and just daily habits, customs, beliefs and relationships in ways that I'm sure no history book would record. The Romanov girls were considered the Princess Dianas of their day, ogled and photographed and gossiped about incessantly. I'm sure the word paparazzi wasn't in vogue then but it sure existed! Honestly, this is the way I wish I had learned history!

I went to Rappaport's website to see what else she has done and I will definitely be looking for more from her. I was surprised to see that she co-authored a book I actually have on my shelf and plan to read this year for the Non-Fiction reads: Capturing the Light, the story of photography.

I really recommend this book

43jessibud2
Modifié : Jan 22, 2016, 8:09 pm

#5 - Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox. I really loved this book. Fox is such an inspiring person, down to earth, and just a decent guy. He divided this book into 4 sections: Work, Politics, Faith, and Family and each is filled with anecdotes, personal involvement, and thoughtfulness. He is articulate, funny (as you would expect) and exudes optimism, in the face of what most of us, I dare say, would consider daunting odds.

For a man who got a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease at the age of 29, newly married with an infant son, and a thriving very public career, one might not expect *optimism* to be the first thing that comes to mind. He is very candid about the fact that denial played a part in the early years, but he is equally candid about the ways in which he surrounded himself with the right people who helped him along the way to turn his attention to action, to taking and playing the cards he was dealt and using what he had to do something positive and constructive with his life and future. His foundation is ground-breaking in its commitment to research toward a cure for Parkinson's, and stem-cell research, in particular. Lip service wasn't an option for him; he became personally involved in the politics of ensuring that the government supported stem-cell research. And when it didn't (under Bush), he did not give up. He faced down- with grace and calm - the likes of ignorant and belligerent people like Rush Limbaugh, who publicly ridiculed him (now that I think of it, Limbaugh is eerily reminiscent of someone currently in the public eye in US politics...). Not being American, I was not really up on, or even aware, really, of those times (the book was published in 2009). So I spent a fair amount of time the other day googling and watching many, many youtube clips of Michael, over the years. I saw his many appearance on Letterman, from his early days as a young actor to the present, as well as his interview with Katie Couric, addressing the Limbaugh attack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5INPn9lCNp4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o6yrdInw6s

Fox is a man of integrity, and grace. He quoted his good friend, the late Christopher Reeve, who believed in the formula of "optimism + information = hope".

I highly recommend this book. It's an easy read but also a delightful and insightful one.

44kidzdoc
Jan 22, 2016, 7:53 pm

Nice review of Always Looking Up, Shelley. I didn't realize (or remember) that Rush Limbaugh had publicly ridiculed him. He and Trump are little more than uncultured bullies, and hopefully they will each get their comeuppance, one way or another, in the not too distant future.

45jessibud2
Jan 22, 2016, 8:14 pm

>44 kidzdoc: - Thanks, Darryl. I sure hope you are right about those uncultured bullies. What scares me is how many supporters they seem to have. If you looked at my second link, the one with Keith Olberman, he and the guy he was talking to made some valid points about how the Limbaughs of the world actually just seem to give permission or an excuse to those whose ignorance really doesn't allow them to learn, or want to learn, about the truth or reality outside their very narrow comfort zone, or frame of reference. And the Limbaughs and Trumps like it that way. At least, that's how I understand it

46jessibud2
Modifié : Jan 24, 2016, 8:06 am

I am starting to line up some books for the February theme of History. I like that history can cover a lot of territory; at least, I interpret it to be history in time, history of a place, or even history of a thing. I have a few books to fit in all those categories. Here are the first 4 I think I will choose:

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (I read another book of his, The Victorian Internet and really enjoyed that one so I am hopeful that his fine writing will carry on in this one).

Capturing the Light subtitled: The Birth of Photography, A True Story of Genius and Rivalry, by Roger Watson and Helen Rappaport. I just finished another outstanding book by Rappaport this month, The Romanov Sisters so I was delighted when I realized that this one is coauthored by her, too.

The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin. Subtitled J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece. On the back it is dubbed part biography, part music history, part literary mystery, and it is the winner of 5 Canadian literary awards. I lent it to a friend who is a musician and she loved it.

I have had Between Silk and Cyanide - A Codemaker's War 1941 - 1945, by Leo Marks (of Marks and Spencer fame) on my shelf for years. I think now is a good time for this one too.

I have quite a few other history books but I think I will start with four and see how far into February they take me.

47scaifea
Jan 25, 2016, 8:21 am

>43 jessibud2: I have this one on my shelves - I hope I can get to it soon!

48Whisper1
Jan 25, 2016, 8:41 am

>43 jessibud2: Shelly, like Amber, I want to get to this book soon. I'll see if the library has it. Your review is outstanding.

49PaulCranswick
Jan 25, 2016, 9:02 am

>46 jessibud2: I like the fact of all these different and differing challenges this year Shelley which we can opt in and out of and which help so to sculpt my reading having far too many books to choose from.

History is one of my favourite topics for reading so I will be reading at least one book for Suz's challenge next month.

50jessibud2
Modifié : Jan 26, 2016, 11:37 am

>47 scaifea: - It's worth the effort, Amber!
>48 Whisper1: - Thanks for your kind words, Linda. I'm fairly sure most libraries would have it. I also read his first book and I know he wrote a third, too, though I can't remember if I've read that one. I don't think so.
>49 PaulCranswick: - I know what you mean. I also have a lot of books and they all appeal to me (why else would I have bought them!). And I love the challenges for exactly the reason you said, it helps me to organize my thoughts and *make a plan*...and hope I follow through, lol!

51michigantrumpet
Fév 1, 2016, 3:52 pm

Just saw your reply to my comment over on Darryl's thread, so thought I'd stop by, say "hello!" and drop a star.

Nice review on the Michael J. Fox autobiography. I particularly liked this:

"...Fox is a man of integrity, and grace. He quoted his good friend, the late Christopher Reeve, who believed in the formula of "optimism + information = hope".

Lovely!

52jessibud2
Fév 1, 2016, 5:12 pm

> Hi, Marianne. Thanks for the hello! That book I mentioned, by Gail Lumet Buckley, I read many years ago, probably over 30 years. I do remember loving it though. I also remember it having a good section of photos. I always love when a biography has photos. :-)

I also see that I forgot to post my most recent bio review here on this thread. I know I posted it on the challenge thread. I will copy it now.

53jessibud2
Modifié : Mai 6, 2016, 8:22 pm

#6 - How Can I Keep From Singing?

I am an admitted *folkie* so I was eager to read this bio of Pete Seeger, one of the original folkies of the last century. But beyond his longevity (he died in 2014 at the age of 94), and some of his songs that formed the soundtrack of my teenage years (Where Have All the Flowers Gone, If I Had a Hammer, his adaptation of the biblical verse to Turn, Turn, Turn, and We Shall Overcome, to name just a few) - beyond this, I knew relatively little about his actual life.

I knew he was an activist for many social issues (anti-war, civil rights, environment, etc,), but I learned so much more from this book. I learned probably more than I wanted to know about the McCarthy era and the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee). He was subpoenaed to testify before them in 1955 and when he refused to answer their questions about his beliefs and affiliations (which violated his First Amendment rights) , he was sentenced to 10 consecutive one-year terms in jail for contempt, which were later overturned. It seems to me, reading this book, that it was insane that such a thing could happen. Seriously, were they really so afraid of Seeger? I knew that anything associated with *Communists* during those post-war years was considered anti-American, but to be able to prosecute and blacklist so many people without any proof seems paranoid to the extreme. He was harassed by the FBI and CIA, who kept files on him for years. Yet, all he wanted to do was sing. The freedom to sing and freedom of speech was his ultimate goal. It seems ludicrous that this was so threatening.

Seeger also seemed to be a man of contradictions, in some ways. He wanted to live his life as a simple man, supporting the underdog. He built his own home, a log cabin, with his own hands, grew his own food. Yet, despite the detractors and the (political) problems that followed him wherever he went, he actually did make money, and he travelled extensively, both alone and with his family. He was not comfortable with the contradiction of having money and often did not want to even know how much he was being paid for his concerts. His wife,Toshi, was his lifelong manager and organizer, so that actually worked to his advantage. He was a man who always marched to his own drummer, followed his own ideals and values, yet he sometimes seemed idealistic to the point of naivete in his belief that a song could change the world.

Seeger most certainly did leave his mark on the music world and the tradition of folk music. This biography was extremely well-researched and well-written. It was first published in 1981, and I believe there has been a more updated version published since.

The end of the book explains the title, taken from an old ballad (I passed the book back to its original owner yesterday so no longer have it in front of me to check the details). But the only version of that song I have ever heard is from the Wonderful World album by the amazing late Eva Cassidy and it's her voice I hear when I read that title.

54kidzdoc
Modifié : Fév 2, 2016, 6:36 am

Great review of How Can I Keep from Singing?, Shelley!

I went to the book's page on LT to give you a thumb for your review, but I didn't see it listed there.

55jessibud2
Modifié : Fév 2, 2016, 7:57 am

>54 kidzdoc: - Hmmm. I just checked my catalog, where I added this book. My review is there. Is the LT page different from that? If so, how do I get my review there? Thanks for your comment, though

Another funny anecdote from the book. This was reportedly written by Walter Winchell, whose name I know but don't really know anything about him. At one point, there was some dumb law in NY City, that singing in public parks was a crime. Apparently, according to Winchell, a cop was patrolling the park after a recent unlawful music event, and he stopped some random guy who was strolling around. He asked him what he was doing. The guy said he was looking for someone to mug. The cop reportedly said, "Oh, ok. I thought you were a folksinger." I laughed out loud, sure that this HAD to be a sarcastic or satirical take on the times. However, my friend's mom, who is 88, said if Winchell said it, it must be true. Who knows. I still think it couldn't possibly be for real, it's just too ludicrous....

56kidzdoc
Modifié : Fév 2, 2016, 2:10 pm

>55 jessibud2: I had to look for a couple of minutes, but I now see what's happened: the same book has two different entries on LT. Your book is this one: How Can I Keep from Singing?: Pete Seeger (http://www.librarything.com/work/17182009), which indicates that it was written by Dunaway David King, and that you are the only owner of the book. Your link, though, goes to the book How Can I Keep from Singing?: The Ballad of Pete Seeger by David King Dunaway (http://www.librarything.com/work/125199), which is owned by 65 members but has no reviews. The latter one is the one that I was looking at, so I couldn't find your review there. Clear as mud? ;-)

Interesting quip from the book. Walter Winchell was a famous gossip columnist and, as I understand it, one of the things he was known for was writing slanderous columns with dubious accusations about those who he thought were Communist sympathizers during the 1950s, so I tend to believe your impression that the quote wasn't accurate.

57jessibud2
Fév 2, 2016, 3:14 pm

> Well, sort of. When I added it to my catalog, I clicked on the cover that matched the one I had, (and had the same publication date). So, how do I delete the one that is not linked to my review? Or rather, how do I link my review to the one the link will take you to? The author's name is David King Dunaway, by the way. Can I fix how that is listed? And the title on my book was simply How Can I Keep From Singing: Pete Seeger (no *ballad of* in there). How odd, this confusion....

58kidzdoc
Fév 2, 2016, 7:44 pm

>57 jessibud2: The easiest thing to do may be to delete the book that you currently "own", click on the link that I posted above (http://www.librarything.com/work/125199), add that book to your library, and then paste your review there.

59jessibud2
Fév 2, 2016, 8:25 pm

>58 kidzdoc: - Thanks, Darryl. I think it's ok now. :-) Techno guidance much appreciated!

60kidzdoc
Fév 2, 2016, 8:28 pm

>59 jessibud2: Yep. I can see your review now, and I've just thumbed it. Glad to be of help.

61jessibud2
Modifié : Fév 17, 2016, 9:16 pm

#7 - Hidden in Plain View - A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad by Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard (touchstones don't seem to be connecting - again - so this is the link: http://www.librarything.com/work/37282/book/126532411)

Even though I am not a quilter, I have always loved quilts. I have had this book on my bookshelf for a long time so decided that Black History month would be the perfect time to finally crack it open. This book is co-written by Jacqueline Tobin, a white woman who is a teacher and a writer, and Raymond G. Dobard, an African American art history professor and an accomplished quilter, himself. The book is part personal quest, part cultural, social and historic study and part mystery. I will admit that the writing was a bit dense and dry at the beginning but once the interpretations and actual story began to unfold, the reading was easier.

In 1994,Jacqueline was visiting historic Charleston when she stopped at the famous Old Marketplace and was drawn to a stand selling beautiful quilts. She bought one and the vendor, an elderly African American woman, started to tell her a story about how quilts were used by slaves to communicate on the Underground Railroad. This was something Jacqueline had never heard before but several months passed before she began what was to become a long, and fascinating quest to learn about the secret codes of the quilts. With the help of many historian and quilters, she traced African cultural history, cultural memory, oral history and the stories of codes, spirituals, and secret societies both in Africa and in the USA. Mrs. Ozella McDaniel Williams, the woman who initially sold Jacqueline the quilt and started her on her journey, was a *griot*, an African term for a storyteller and keeper of cultural and heritage, usually passed down from generation to generation. Gradually, the quilt code patterns were revealed. The various patterns used in quilting, from the designs, to the colours, to the stitching, each represented a message, a direction or a directive, guiding the slaves in their attempts to escape slavery and make their way north to Canada and freedom. Since slaves in the 1800s were not legally allowed to learn to read or write, their songs, or spirituals also often contained coded messages, thus rendering songs and quilts - all *hidden in plain view* - a sort of audio-visual form of communication between them.

One particular example I found fascinating was that each *safe* station along the way had a code name. For example Detroit, Michigan was *Midnight*, and Dresden, Ontario (Canada) was *Dawn*. The coded message *from Midnight to Dawn* meant to travel from Detroit to Dresden. This was given as a sample of a specific coded message but it struck me particularly because I happen to also have another book by Jacqueline Tobin, published 8 years after Hidden in Plain View. Its title? From Midnight to Dawn - The Last Tracks of the Underground Railroad. Suddenly, that title took on a whole new meaning for me.

Hidden in Plain View has illustrations, photos, a glossary and a timeline, and is fascinating reading, giving new insight into a part of history we thought we knew but are still learning about.

And, perhaps this is coincidence, given that I am just reading this now, but just this past weekend, here in Toronto, another piece of the Underground Railroad story was revealed in an unexpected find during an excavation in our downtown core:

http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/02/15/torontos-black-history-unearthed-...

62scaifea
Fév 19, 2016, 6:47 am

Oh, that one sounds fascinating! Thanks for the review!

63kidzdoc
Modifié : Fév 19, 2016, 10:29 am

Great review of Hidden in Plain View, Shelley!

64jessibud2
Modifié : Fév 19, 2016, 10:32 am

>62 scaifea:, >63 kidzdoc: - Thanks, Amber and Darryl. Apparently (I only found this out after reading and posting my review), there is a lot of controversy about the whole quilt code issue and whether it is real at all or a myth (I almost said a *fabrication* but that would be a terrible pun, wouldn't it?) Anyhow, it was still a decent read and pretty interesting and I suspect that if it isn't totally accurate, there might very well be some kernels of truth to it. The authors certainly did a lot of research that, to me, anyhow, seems valid

65jessibud2
Modifié : Fév 20, 2016, 7:28 am

#8 - The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati.

I finished listening to this epic audiobook (25 discs, actual book, 732 pages) and I really liked it. The characters were well developed and the narrator, Cassandra Campbell, was so good at breathing life into them. It was a very atmospheric period piece, set in the 1880s New York City, a time when women in medicine was very much the exception and not overly accepted in society. The story centres on 2 cousins, Sophie and Anna Savard who are both doctors.

This historical fiction was very well researched and I felt completely transported to NYC of the 1880s. Messengers were sent back and forth to deliver notes throughout the day (no telephones), horse and buggies, omnibuses and *cabs* were the modes of transportation. Lister's rules of sanitation were observed, if not yet entirely accepted by all medical personnel, though surgical gloves were not yet standard equipment. Most of the characters in this book were fictional, although there were 3 real historical figures who played both important and secondary roles in the story: Anthony Comstock, the absolutely nasty character who was a postal inspector and politician, a so-called social reformer but in fact, he founded an organization known as The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, censoring all manner of written material he deemed obscene or immoral, which included any pamphlets even remotely hinting at birth control. He was vicious in his pursuits and condemnation. The 2 main protagonists, Anna and Sophie Savard, are female physicians who treat women, children and the poor and there is a riveting courtroom scene where Comstock figures prominently, pitted against the Drs. Savard. Two of the Savards' defenders in this case were also real-life historic figures, Dr. Abraham Jacobi (considered the father of modern pediatrics) and his wife, Dr. Mary Jacobi. I love when real life meets fiction; of course, I get sidetracked, googling to learn more about them.

There are several subplots and stories intertwining and not all of them were wrapped up at the end, a fact I liked even while wishing for closure. I liked it because in life, not everything gets resolved. And, after going to the author's website, I learned that this novel is the first of an upcoming series, so in fact, maybe those unsolved story lines will eventually be revisited and resolved.

http://thegildedhour.com/

66kidzdoc
Fév 20, 2016, 3:08 am

Great review of The Gilded Hour, Shelley! I'll be on the lookout for it.

67jessibud2
Fév 20, 2016, 6:45 pm

>66 kidzdoc: - Thanks, Darryl. I enjoyed it as much as I had hoped to. It's been many years since I wrapped myself in a book *series* and frankly, don't have much interest in doing so now, given all the others books I own and want to make my way through. But that said, if this is the first of an upcoming series, I can definitely see myself reading #2, at least, and if it continues to be good, maybe more. As a stand-alone, it was pretty good just as it is.

68thornton37814
Fév 22, 2016, 10:12 pm

>61 jessibud2: Those quilts have such a fascinating history.

69PaulCranswick
Fév 28, 2016, 9:08 am

>65 jessibud2: That looks a long, long, long read Shelley.

Now it is done I am sure you can get on and enjoy your weekend.

70jessibud2
Modifié : Mai 6, 2016, 8:29 pm

#9 - Capturing the Light - The Birth of Photography, A True Story of Genius and Rivalry by Roger Watson and Helen Rappaport

This was a fascinating look at not just the history of photography, per se, but also at the 2 men who were at the centre of its development. Louis Daguerre and Henry Fox Talbot lived in different countries (France and England, respectively) and never even knew of one another's existence or work in the field until late in the game. They were very different personalities, as well, and their processes, experimentations and results in the field were also complementary. But how they brought their creations to the public became a rivalry for the ages. Once their methods came to public knowledge, improvements and progress were rapid and it quickly became evident that this was a game-changer in the way the computer was for our world. "Many other art forms had been in existence in primitive form before humans even left the cave, but this invention was such a giant step forward in representing the world around us that it was truly only believed when seen."

When the genre was merely 20 years old, Abraham Lincoln became the first to use his own photo as an election tool in his presidential campaign by having tintype campaign buttons made and distributed. This was in 1860. A few years later, photography had given way to a new genre: photojournalism, when graphic photos were being made and published, showing the horrific scenes of war, particularly at Gettysburg.

This book has several great illustrations as well as copies of some early photographs including what is probably the world's first selfie: a daguerrotype self-portrait, circa 1839.

The camera had, by the end of the 19th century, become "as indispensable as the bicycle". It was sometimes referred to as a time machine, with its ability to capture images and memories permanently and transport people back in time long after a loved one was gone, for example. Queen Victoria and her family were early fans and adopters of this new hobby.

"Within twenty years of its invention photography was playing a major part in people's lives...By the end of the century, it had become a much-practised and much-loved universal hobby, made possible by the introduction of Kodak's cheap and easy-to-use cameras and celluloid film. The introduction of roll film led directly to another of the great wonders of the modern age - cinema - when the first public screening of a film was given by two other French masters of illusion, the Lumiere brothers, in December 1895. "

It is quite remarkable to realize that the 1800s were not that long ago, really, and to reflect on just how much technological progress and invention has transpired in that time. The question of whether photography was (is) an art or a science was discussed at length in the book yet there is no definitive answer to this, other than to say, a combination of both.

71kidzdoc
Mar 6, 2016, 4:54 am

Nice review of Capturing the Light, Shelley!

72jessibud2
Mar 9, 2016, 9:06 am

Not book-related but RIP Sir George Martin, the creativity and gentle genius behind the (early) Beatles. He died today at age 90... Really, such an accomplished man.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/fifth-beatle-george-martin-dies-at-age...

:-(

73PaulCranswick
Mar 9, 2016, 10:00 am

>72 jessibud2: Thanks for putting that article up Shelley - I like your phrase "gentle genius" - it seems to do him apt justice. Amazing to think that a Martin recording topped the charts in the UK for 37 weeks straight in 1963.

>70 jessibud2: Also interested in your review. My partner in Malaysia in a couple of businesses is a mightily talented and extremely frustrating chap called Charles Liddall - an award winning photographer. Brilliantly inventive mind but by his own admission a useless business brain. We have teamed forces to undertake simulation and special build projects and he is highly likely to call me at all types of ungodly hours with "here's an idea!"

This is Charlie.

http://www.charlesliddall.com/portfolio.php?t=1

74jessibud2
Mar 9, 2016, 12:49 pm

>71 kidzdoc:, 73 - Thanks, Darryl and Paul. It was quite an interesting read. I really like learning about the people behind great ideas or inventions and this one did not disappoint.

75jessibud2
Mar 13, 2016, 8:02 am

#10 - A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. This was an odd read for me. I actually abandoned it for awhile but in the end I did go back to it and read most of it, so I have decided to count it even though, as a rule, I only count books I have completed. I had read another book by Tom Standage a few years ago, The Victorian Internet and really enjoyed that one a lot so maybe I just had high expectations for this one. The first 2 sections, Beer and Wine, were interesting but not riveting. I am not a drinker of alcohol (basically, it puts me to sleep though I also mostly don't like the taste) so beyond the actual history aspects, these sections just didn't hold my attention all that much. I don't drink spirits either so I skipped that section altogether. Same for coffee. I left the book for awhile and began a couple of others but did go back to read the sections on Coca Cola and Tea. I expect that most people might enjoy this book more than I did, overall. So why, you are asking, did I pick this one up at all? I think I chose it mostly because of the author rather than the subject matter!

76PaulCranswick
Mar 13, 2016, 9:26 am

>75 jessibud2: Interesting premise for a history, Shelley. I do like an occasional beer, whisky and wine although I am not a heavy drinker but I have stopped taking coca cola since last year as I do believe its effects are far more pernicious than those earlier mentioned.

Have a lovely Sunday.

77jessibud2
Mar 13, 2016, 9:44 am

>Even though I am not a drinker at all - and don't even like coffee - I also thought this was an interesting premise for a book. It goes into the history of where and how these 6 drinks originated and how they developed and impacted the culture and economy of the countries they touched. That was the part I found the most interesting.

I also almost never drink carbonated drinks, for health reasons as well. Weirdly, I do find that a few sips of coca cola seems to kill anything in there when I have tummy upsets. Now, what does that say about the drink! Certainly not what the company intended, I presume, although I was surprised to find out that it was originally marketed as a medicine!

78jessibud2
Mar 15, 2016, 9:41 am

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Beware of the stories you read or tell; subtly, at night, beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world. -Ben Okri, poet and novelist (b. 15 Mar 1959)

I haven't read anything by Okri (yet) but this quote speaks to something in me. Sometimes, I do think about why I choose to read what I read, and I think about when I read what I read. I don't often have an answer, often chalking it up to whim or random selection but I think he has something there; maybe "beneath the waters of consciousness", there is no *random*, after all.....

Good food for thought.......

79jessibud2
Mar 15, 2016, 10:06 am

#11 - The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson (in case the touchstone doesn't take you to the right one)

The reviews I read of this newest book by Bill Bryson were not that great but as I am a huge fan of his, I was prepared to ignore them and love it anyhow. I was happy to find the audio version at the library but my first big disappointment was that it was not read by him. He has narrated every other book of his that I have listened to on audio and that has always been a major appeal for me. The narrator of this one, Nathan Osgood, has an alarmingly Bob Costas-like quality to his voice and for the purposes of this book, in my opinion, that was not a good thing. Osgood has a very sarcastic tone and has some issues with pronunciation and on-again/off-again accents, which I found rather annoying and distracting. Yes, this book was rather grumpier and less appealing than most of Bryson's other books, but I think I would have enjoyed it much more if Bryson himself had done the reading. I wonder why he didn't.

80jessibud2
Mar 22, 2016, 8:57 am

#12 - Remembering the Don by Charles Sauriol. Maybe it's just my teacher's eye (or maybe they didn't have editors back then) but this book was riddled with typos and it was all I could do not to circle them! ;-) . Despite that, I quite enjoyed this look at the history of the area where I live. Sauriol grew up on the Don River at the beginning of the last century and published this book over 35 years ago. I have only lived in this area for the last 15 years and did not even grow up in this province. But I love the ravine system and love local history so learning about how this river that runs down the middle of Toronto was so instrumental in the development of the city, was really what compelled me to keep reading. Sauriol was also an avid conservationist and the history he chronicles is not only political, urban, and local history, but also the natural history of the area and how it has changed to allow for all the rest to develop. This is the natural way of life but in some ways, it is sad. That said, Toronto is still a city of lots of green spaces and many parks and ravines and is one of the things I love about living here.

81PaulCranswick
Mar 22, 2016, 9:19 am

>80 jessibud2: Sloppy editing does get me down too, Shelley. I just think that those publishing a book should care a little more sometimes.

82PaulCranswick
Mar 25, 2016, 12:16 am

Have a wonderful Easter.



83jessibud2
Mar 25, 2016, 7:42 am

#13 - I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson. Why are the touchstones so often incorrect?

I read the book copy of this one rather than the audio as it is one of the few Bryson books I actually own. It was written in 1999, after he had lived in England for 20 years and had just returned to the States with his wife and 4 kids. This books is a collection of short articles he wrote for his local newspaper after moving to New Hampshire, and is vintage Bryson: quirky, funny (laugh out loud funny, more often than not). I am thankful that this book reminded me why I enjoy his writing so much. I will be passing this along to a friend and her husband, both of whom I know will love it

84johnsimpson
Mar 25, 2016, 12:29 pm

Hi Shelley, Happy Easter my dear. I cannot believe I have not visited your thread until now, how remiss of me when you have commented on mine. Have a lovely weekend my dear and I send love and hugs.

P.S I will star your thread.

85jessibud2
Modifié : Mar 25, 2016, 6:14 pm

>84 johnsimpson: - And to you, John. I hope your weather is better than ours - we had an ice storm yesterday and although the temps are rising and will continue to do so for the next several days, currently, everything - streets, sidewalks, trees, plants - are encased in ice. Though many kids were happy enough yesterday to get an early start to their long weekend!

Hope you are well and mending

86jessibud2
Modifié : Mar 25, 2016, 2:34 pm

#14 - Jeter Unfiltered by Derek Jeter. This is a hard cover book, mostly photos in both colour and black and white, with mostly very short captions or paragraphs, about Jeter's final year playing major league baseball. He is one of the only members of the Yankees to have played his entire career (20 years) with the same team, and to have reached the milestone of 3000 hits. Jeter is also, in my opinion, one of the few players of class, that is, a decent human being both on and off the field. In this age of baseball being more a business and less a real game of *fun*, and with so many spoiled, egotistical and money greedy players, the Derek Jeters of the game are almost non-existent any more. I was never a Yankees fan but was always a Jeter fan. The respect paid him by fans and ball clubs throughout the entire baseball system during his final year, speaks volumes about the man.

This is a coffee table type of book but easily read in one sitting

87johnsimpson
Mar 25, 2016, 5:21 pm

>85 jessibud2:, Hi Shelley, it was a lovely sunny and warm day today but the forecast for the next few days is not too good with rain and wind. I am healing well but slowly and have to keep my sling on for another four weeks so no driving until May. Tomorrow we are going to Sheffield by train as I am getting cabin fever and all the family are coming for lunch on Sunday. Have a lovely weekend my dear.

88jessibud2
Avr 12, 2016, 3:38 pm

I have hit a wall, with my reading. I am actually currently reading 2 books that I am enjoying but for whatever reason (let's blame the insane weather, this time, shall we), I seem to lose concentration quickly, and am flitting. I have begun and discarded 7 - yes, 7! - books in the past week. Which isn't as bad as it sounds as I am happy that I can part with them and move them along. But it does speak to my current phase of inability to just sit and READ. It happens. I know it does, and I know it will pass. But it drives me crazy...

What I am still reading and WILL finish because they are both good, are Change Up by Buck Martinez (about the Toronto Blue Jays and the way the game of baseball is being played these days. Also, The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund deWaal. Still good.

Touchstone for the first book is wrong. Not even close. I don't have patience to try to fix it.

;-p

89johnsimpson
Avr 12, 2016, 3:53 pm

Hi Shelley, sorry to hear you are hitting the wall with your reading my dear, I had that last summer for some reason but it came back and it will for you. Sending love and hugs my dear.

90kidzdoc
Avr 12, 2016, 6:52 pm

>88 jessibud2: I'm sorry that you're in a book funk, Shelley. I imagine that all of us experience it from time to time. I generally fall into one when I am reading books that I've assigned myself for different challenges, whether internal or external, especially when I'm in the midst of a busy work stretch and can't concentrate on much of anything. At those times I choose a book by a favorite author, or one that I've been very eager to read but isn't one that I've planned to read that month.

I just finished a fabulous book from this year's Man Booker International Prize longlist, A Whole Life by the Austrian author Robert Seethaler, which was a deeply moving and beautifully written novella about an ordinary man in a German mountainside village. I've read two other superb books from the longlist in the past month, The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa, which were both quick reads.

91jessibud2
Modifié : Avr 16, 2016, 10:20 am

>89 johnsimpson:, >90 kidzdoc: - Thanks John, and Darryl. It happens, I know. It happens to me from time to time, thankfully not too frequently.

I just finished watching the Ken Burns 2-part documentary about Jackie Robinson. It was really excellent. There was such a wide variety of narrators, including a few I know of. Ralph Branca, a teammate of Jackie's; I read a memoir of his a few years back. It was really good. Myron Uhlberg, an author from New York, is one I was especially pleased to see in part one. I read a book he wrote, last year, his memoir of growing up in Brooklyn as the hearing child of deaf parents. It was a very moving and loving story and in this doc, he spoke about how his dad was crazy about baseball and how he tried to sign the games for him, and had trouble keeping up with the play by play (radio days, before tv!). The thrill of his dad taking him to his first game and how angry his dad got when he saw how Robinson was treated. He said that his dad identified with being the *outcast*, the one bullied because of his *difference*. Very moving. Also, I loved how the Obamas commented at various times throughout the doc. It was just another really good Ken Burns documentary - quality all the way. Rachel Robinson is still alive, at 93, bless her. This makes me want to pull out the second Jackie Robinson book I have, First Class Citizenship. I think I will wait until I finish my current 2 books and hopefully, this funk will be gone by then. It's a book I don't want to start and not finish.

Thanks for the title suggestions, Darryl. Always good to get strong positive recommendations.

92johnsimpson
Avr 15, 2016, 3:58 pm

Hi Shelley, wishing you a lovely weekend my dear, sending love and hugs.

93kidzdoc
Avr 16, 2016, 10:14 am

>91 jessibud2: Thanks for that great description of the Jackie Robinson biography, Shelley. I think I should be able to watch it on one of the PBS apps on demand, so I'll plan to do so with my parents when I visit them next month. I may also add his autobiography, I Never Had it Made, to my reading list for May.

94jessibud2
Modifié : Avr 16, 2016, 11:00 am

>93 kidzdoc: - Although I had read I Never Had it Made, there were still a few things I either didn't remember or never knew, such as how the Robinsons actually lived with Carly Simon's family for a short time while house-hunting!

stupid touchstones. THIS is where it should lead to: http://www.librarything.com/work/245133

How does that happen anyhow? There is not one single word in the title I bracketed that matches the touchstone that appeared at the right. I will never understand this system. Thanks for your touchstone, Darryl, which worked. I know you explained it to me once before but I guess I am just too lazy to fight with it (or too thick to understand)

95kidzdoc
Avr 16, 2016, 11:30 am

>94 jessibud2: The touchstones are easily the worst thing about LT, especially for people who read books that aren't popular and aren't readily available in the US. I posted this description by lorax in my previous thread about the touchstone search engine:

It searches individually for the words (excluding common 'stopwords' like 'of' and 'the') in all of the individual book titles comprising a work. Even if they aren't in the same title, if it matches them all it considers them. Then it weights all the matches, with popularity one of the ingredients. So since "year" and "french" both come up in individual members' titles for The Harry Potter book ("Year One at Hogwarts" or "French edition"), and it's a wildly popular book, it comes up first. In particularly bad cases, the correct match may not appear at all in the list of "Others".


Apparently there has been a "fix", but the fix has made things even worse, at least for me. If you're too thick to understand the touchstone system then so are most, if not all, of the rest of us. I wish that the LT powers-that-be would make this a priority, which they don't seem to be interested in doing. Maybe we should all register our complaints en masse, and perhaps a groundswell of comments will encourage them to get on with fixing this chronic problem.

96drneutron
Avr 16, 2016, 2:58 pm

I think we should all show up at Tim's place and have a sit in until they fix it. Of course, we'd all start reading and forget about protesting. :)

Seriously, yeah. I'd love it if they'd get this fixed.

97jessibud2
Avr 22, 2016, 11:17 pm

#15 - Pacific by Simon Winchester. As per usual, the touchstone is wrong. Here is the link to my review: http://www.librarything.com/work/16031706/book/129450545

I love Winchester. He does his homework, is incredibly thorough and knows how to tell a great story. Even when so many different tangents seem to threaten to spin off in all directions, he weaves everything back together seamlessly. I would have to say that he is one of my favourite authors. I have read (or listened to him read to me, on audio) several of his books and there are at least 2 more sitting on my shelf waiting their turn.

98PaulCranswick
Avr 23, 2016, 6:37 am

>95 kidzdoc: I am in a rather more charitable place at the moment. Couldn't agree more that some of the touchstone finds for certain books is bizarre and a little frustrating but aren't we so lucky to have this facility? albeit in its imperfect state. The fact that I have got 11,000 books logged into LT and invariably the new ones I add are found without too much head scratching is a wonderful thing. They could make it better and I am sure they will but it sure beats my manual recording previously.

Have a lovely weekend Shelley. xx

99PaulCranswick
Avr 30, 2016, 11:16 am

Wherefore art thou, Shelley?
Pray drop by and tell-ey
Can't conceive
Why you'd leave
Come on back into the melee.

100jessibud2
Mai 1, 2016, 9:55 am

>99 PaulCranswick: - You crack me up! I am here, just alternately busy and distracted....
Thanks for the shout-out, so eloquent! :-)

101jessibud2
Mai 1, 2016, 9:55 am

#16 - Change Up by Buck Martinez. Martinez has spent much of his life in baseball. He was a player, manager, and broadcaster, mostly for the Blue Jays. His insights into the game, and into the mentality it takes to win, is (or should be) a lesson for the ages. In brief, he looks at the teams that have had winning records in the past, looks at their methods, their philosophies and applies those principles to winning teams today. His closing sentences sums it up: "Sometimes, a clear view forward requires a good, long look back. And that's how you change it up."

I found this to be a really enjoyable read. The only thing I felt discouraged about is that in this age of *moneyball*, and the *individual* mentality (as opposed to a team mentality), Martinez's point seems lost on far too many in the game.

102jessibud2
Modifié : Mai 22, 2016, 7:13 am

#17 - The Pharos Gate by Nick Bantock. I was thrilled to find this newest book in the Griffin and Sabine saga. Always fun, beautiful and intriguing to read, I was left with much the same feeling as I had with the others: ??? Now what? Nothing has really been resolved and so... can we anticipate another volume soon? Much as I love this series, I am really curious and eager for some conclusion. Psychologically complex, visually lovely, and in spite of the open-endedness of this story with no end, I find myself somehow addicted...

103jessibud2
Mai 6, 2016, 9:10 am

#18 - Tom Thomson Artist of the North by Wayne Larsen.

Being Canadian, of course I knew who Tom Thomson was. But I did not know much beyond the mystery of his death and the iconic pictures he painted. I enjoyed this look at his ancestry, his life, his work and came away with a desire to learn even more. I live in Toronto so could imagine some of the places he lived and worked. I have been to the McMichael Museum in Kleinberg several times to see the work of the Group of Seven (which, without a doubt, would have been known as The Group of Eight had he lived). In fact, I am about to begin another book about Thomson that I have on my shelf, just because I feel the urge to dig deeper right now!

104PaulCranswick
Mai 21, 2016, 11:21 pm

>103 jessibud2: Not being Canadian, I had, of course, never heard of him but the book looks interesting.

Have a lovely weekend, Shelly. xx

105jessibud2
Modifié : Mai 26, 2016, 8:03 am

#19 - In Montmarte by Sue Roe, read by Emma Bering on audiobook, 10 discs (touchstone wrong again...)

Billed as a *group biography*, Roe tells the story of Picasso and his contemporaries in the first decade or so of the 20th century, as they arrive in Paris and live and work in this section known as Montmarte.

The book was well researched and although all the reviews I read about this book were quite positive, I have to admit that I found it a slog. Bering does a decent job at narration; her French accent is perfect, like a native French speaker, as is her Italian accent, for names and places of that origin. She has a pleasant voice but some odd quirks when reading (I could *hear* the commas and quotation marks in the text because she came to an almost full stop before each. Probably says more about my own anal expectations about fluidity in oral reading than about her as a reader. As audiobook narrators go, overall, she is one of the better ones, I think).

I have read a few books about art and artists and although I have never studied art history and am not an artist at all, myself, I jumped into this book hoping and expecting to learn a lot. The truth is, though, that although I recognized some of the more familiar names such as Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, and even Gertrude Stein, I really don't know all that much of their work and there were far more names of people I did not recognize at all; so much so that I found myself not being able to distinguish between many of them. I do know that I have never understood Picasso or Cubism and that style of art has never appealed to me. Roe goes into great detail describing many of the works of art, as well as the origins of Cubism, and frankly, it all went right by me. I found it difficult to focus on descriptions of paintings that I was not actually seeing and by the 7th or 8th disc or so, my mind was drifting. I am sure that someone who comes to this book with more knowledge or interest than I have would probably enjoy it a lot more than I did.

Oh well...c'est la vie

106jessibud2
Juin 5, 2016, 9:17 pm

#20 - I'll Take You There: Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers, and the Music That Shaped the Civil Rights Era by Greg Kot.

Unbelievably, Mavis Staples only came onto my radar in the last few years. How this is even possible, I don't know. It was shortly after hearing her on the radio and being mesmerized by her voice, that the documentary *Mavis!* played at the Hot Docs Festival here in Toronto. I loved it! Shortly after that, I found this book and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. Author Greg Kot does a great job at researching this book and covers the Staple Singers from their earliest roots, through their careers at various recording studios and collaborations with Bob Dylan, Prince, Levon Helm, among others; their travels to Ghana and South Africa, and their influence in the days of Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights movement. He goes into great detail about the songs, the music, and touches on the family's personal struggles and tragedies as well.

The only thing missing from this book was a CD! So, to that end, I spent quite some time googling and listened to (and watched, thanks to youtube) several performances. Just wow!

Early recording (1959): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rekp7rRcSFs

The song that is the title of the book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY3vgBzgYn4

107jessibud2
Juin 8, 2016, 11:06 am

#21 - I Love Dirt! by Jennifer Ward. This was a very quick read and enjoyable. It's a season by season guide to exploring and enjoying nature with kids, aimed at parents and/or teachers. I am not a parent but was a primary school teacher for 26 years and it's affirming to see that my instincts were so *right*. Although I taught physically and developmentally disabled kids, I always wrapped my curriculum around nature-based activities, and ensured that the outdoors were part of it as often as the weather permitted. I am proud to see that so many of the activities in this book were part of our daily classroom life and I know that my students were very engaged in all of it. I really worry for the next generation of kids who are so glued to electronic devices; *nature* will be lost to them and that is a tragedy

108jessibud2
Juin 10, 2016, 9:10 am

Just a note on reading serendipity

On Wednesday night I started my next book for the non-fiction challenge for May (anything nature-related), Diane Ackerman's Cultivating Delight. I love this woman's writing, and she is a prime example of why I am such a slow reader; I just find myself soaking up her words, rereading them, allowing myself to be transported to her side, to see what she sees, through her eyes and senses. She has a way of doing that to a reader. I could have read more before turning off the light but I decided to stop and allow those lovely images to be my last before sleep.

Anyhow, yesterday I had an appointment in the morning, to which I had to go by subway. Rather than lugging a heavy hardcover book (Ackerman's), I chose instead to grab another off my pile of nature-related books for this challenge (and sigh, not one of the 6 I initially chose...). It is a collection of essays about nature, gardening, environment, etc, called When the Wild Comes Leaping Up - Personal Encounters with Nature edited by David Suzuki. It includes essays by Canadian, American, British and Australian writers, with a long intro by Suzuki himself. As I glanced through the table of contents, I was delighted to see Diane Ackerman's name among the contributors. Because this is a collection and not a chronological story, I quickly flipped to her essay, near the back of the book. I was delighted and surprised - yet, oddly, NOT surprised) to find her essay: The Deer in Springtime. The very piece that so enchanted me the night before. Of all the essays that this prolific writer could have offered up, this was the one that appears in this book.

I love when that happens! :-)

109jessibud2
Juil 2, 2016, 8:50 am

#22 - Cultivating Delight by Diane Ackerman. I really loved this book. I am rushing out soon to our LT meetup downtown so will edit in my review later on today when I get home

110johnsimpson
Juil 2, 2016, 8:56 am

Hi Shelley, hope you are ok my dear. Have a lovely weekend, sending love and hugs.

111kidzdoc
Juil 2, 2016, 1:53 pm

I'm looking forward to meet up photos! Have a great time.

112johnsimpson
Juil 4, 2016, 7:26 am

Happy 4th of July my dear.

113jessibud2
Juil 4, 2016, 7:45 am

>112 johnsimpson: - Thanks, John, though I am not American (my dad was, though). We Canadians celebrated our Canada Day on July 1, just a few days ago. :-)

114johnsimpson
Juil 4, 2016, 9:53 am

>113 jessibud2:, Sorry Shelley, hope you had a great Canada Day my dear.

115jessibud2
Modifié : Juil 4, 2016, 10:48 am

Thanks, John, I did! Do the Brits have an equivalent day to Canada Day or the 4th of July? (though, these days, that might not be the right question to be asking, I suspect!)

116johnsimpson
Juil 4, 2016, 3:52 pm

No we don't sadly, Shelley.

117jessibud2
Modifié : Nov 22, 2016, 7:19 pm

My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem. I listened to the audiobook version of this memoir, oddly, read by Debra Winger. Steinem reads the intro and dedication. I don't know why she didn't read the rest of it. It's well-written and I enjoyed her story. Although Winger is an accomplished actress, I have to say, her narration is just awful. I think there is a similar tonal quality between Winger's and Steinem's voices, sort of flat. But I know Steinem's voice and while it isn't what anyone would call melodious, you can at least hear the proper punctuation: periods at the ends of sentences and questions marks where they should be. Winger uses *upspeak* or *uptalk* and if I hadn't enjoyed the book so much, I'd have ditched it ages ago, it was that annoying. I think what bothers me almost as much as the actual upspeak, is the fact that she is supposedly a professional actress, and I would expect that she ought to know better how to project and come across to an audience. I wonder if Steinem knows how the finished product sounds and if she had any say in it at all. I certainly have never heard Steinem herself speak that way.

As for the book itself, I actually learned so much I did not know, not just about Steinem herself and her background, but about the politics and struggles of several decades in the United States. Also, about some of the players in those struggles that I had not necessarily known about before (maybe I would have, if I were American but I'm not). I probably would have enjoyed it much more if I had read the hardcopy myself.

In case you don't know what *upspeak* or *uptalk* is, I found this when I googled, by way of explanation. You only need to listen to about a minute of this youtube video to know what I mean. Imagine listening to 8 discs in this voice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdhJxAmUu3Y

118jessibud2
Juil 18, 2016, 8:38 pm

2 more to add here. One was The Xenophobe's Guide to the Canadians by Vaughn Roste. This was a quick read, though in truth, it was only mediocre, in my view. Much funnier (and much longer, it is true) is Will Ferguson's How To Be A Canadian Even if You Already Are One. Roste covers a wide variety of aspects of Canada and Canadians, some of which were factual, some of which, I think, were questionable and exaggerated, some made me smile or chuckle a bit but none made me laugh out loud the way Ferguson's book did.

I also took a break from non-fiction by reading a novel by Yasmina Khadra called The Attack. It is about an Arab Israeli surgeon who has carved a wonderful and good honourable life for himself and his wife in Tel Aviv. The day after a suicide bomber kills many in a restaurant, facts emerge indicating that it was his wife who was the bomber. His life falls apart as he tries to make sense of something he never saw coming, and he tries to find answers. I found this book disturbing on many levels. It is well-written, but exposes both sides of the hatred in that part of the world, and shows why (in my view) there can never be peace. Sad, tragic, infuriating and insane. It should have been a quick read because it was gripping and well-written, but I found that I could not read it in bed before going to sleep. I have never learned how to easily turn off my brain and this book is not something I wanted to be thinking about as I closed my eyes at night. The world we are living in is just too crazy and evil these days. And the good people never win..... :-(

I am going to make a concerted effort to turn to some lighter fair over the next couple of weeks.

119jessibud2
Juil 18, 2016, 8:41 pm

I also noticed that I have not yet reviewed Diane Ackerman's Cultivating Delight, a book I really loved. I wanted to include some quotes and passages but I am leaving tomorrow morning for a trip to Montreal for a few days so it will have to wait until my return. No time tonight.

120_Zoe_
Modifié : Juil 18, 2016, 9:26 pm

>118 jessibud2: I think I saw a movie based on The Attack a few years ago. It must have been at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival in 2013. Somehow I don't remember the ending, but the premise certainly stuck with me.

121jessibud2
Juil 18, 2016, 9:34 pm

>120 _Zoe_: - Wow, I definitely don't think I could watch a film version of this book. Too much blood and gore and violence. It was more than I can generally stomach, just reading about it. I hadn't heard of the film but I generally have a very low (to no) tolerance for violence. It's something that you just can't get away from in the world, in general, I know that, and I find it quite repulsive how violence-as-entertainment is just a hot marketing tool. And people wonder why there is so much of it in the *real* world. I wonder why people are surprised.

The ending was not a good one, let's just say...

122PaulCranswick
Juil 19, 2016, 3:31 am

>118 jessibud2: His book on the last days of Gaddaffi is also pretty strong stuff, Shelley.

123PaulCranswick
Juil 23, 2016, 8:02 am

A fly past to wish you a lovely weekend, Shelley.

124jessibud2
Juil 23, 2016, 9:30 am

Thanks, Paul. You too. Hope you are well and truly on the mend

125jessibud2
Juil 29, 2016, 9:14 pm

I finished The Impact of a Single Event by R.L. Prendergast, a Canadian book of fiction. Odd that it has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time but I only picked it up last week to read on the train during my trip to Montreal. The concept of the story intrigued me. From the blurb on the back: "A terrible car accident occurs. Richard and Sonia, a couple with a crumbling marriage, stop to help the critically injured victims. In the process, they find a 140-year-old journal by the side of the road. Six different people have written in the journal. Though the entries span 3 centuries, the writers share a quest: the search for meaning in their lives. These stories take Richard and Sonia on a personal and historic journey: across Canada to the jungles of India and back to the Canadian Rocky Mountains, where a final mystery awaits."

I found it interesting although some of the stories were stronger than others. In some ways, I liked the journal entries more than Richard and Sonia's story, which I felt was a bit thin. The ending was not what I expected and there was a point where I wondered if the book was actually partly a true story. Without giving away any spoilers, there is a turn at the end that could easily lead one to think this..... Anyhow, I enjoyed the read as it was different enough from other fiction I've read recently.

126PaulCranswick
Juil 30, 2016, 12:26 pm

>125 jessibud2: Interesting sounding book Shelley by someone I must admit never having heard of.

Have a lovely weekend.

127jessibud2
Juil 30, 2016, 1:25 pm

>126 PaulCranswick: - I'd never heard of him, either!

128johnsimpson
Août 1, 2016, 10:09 am

Hi Shelley, thanks for the anniversary message, sending love and hugs.

129jessibud2
Modifié : Août 12, 2016, 1:48 pm

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, on audiobook, narrated by Juliet Stevenson. I enjoyed this audiobook but in truth, at 18 discs, it would have been just as good, if not better, at half the length. I think I might have abandoned it altogether if the reader had not been as good as she was. I love when fiction incorporates real-life characters into the story and this was the case in this tale of Alma Whittaker, an American born botanist (born in 1800) whose life eventually takes her to Tahiti, then to The Netherlands, over the course of her long life, where her theories overlap with those of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, and their theories of evolution. I had, of course, known of Darwin but googled Wallace to learn that he too, was a real character and contemporary of Darwin's. Any book that provides me an opportunity to learn something new and causes me to want to google to learn more, can't be bad! In fact, the story was fascinating and in parts, rivetting. Alma was a woman ahead of her time, for sure, and that is always refreshing to see.

130PaulCranswick
Août 13, 2016, 12:04 pm

>129 jessibud2: 18 CDs adds up to a heck of a lot of listening, Shelley!

Have a lovely weekend.

131jessibud2
Août 16, 2016, 3:26 pm

Longitude
subtitled *The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time*

Although this book was only 175 pages long, it took me longer than I expected it to, to get through it. This is probably due to the fact that there was much more *math* and mathematical detail than my non-math brain could process and rather than just skim and skip, I tried to get through it all. The story itself, of John Harrison and his valiant attempts at inventing an instrument that would accurately determine longitude (in the 1700s), the most pressing scientific challenge of his time, was fascinating. He was treated so badly by the organization which sponsored the competition to award the inventor; it was truly shameful. I guess this aspect of human nature hasn't changed much over time.

There are 2 quotes, one from the beginning of the book, and one from the very end, that I liked:

"...Time is to clock as mind is to brain.. The clock or watch somehow contains the time. And yet time refuses to be bottled up like a genie stuffed in a lamp. Whether it flows as sand or turns on wheels within wheels, time escapes irretrievably, while we watch...when the mainspring winds down so far that the clock hands hold still as death, time itself keeps on. The most we can hope a watch to do is to mark that progress. And since time sets its own tempo, like a heartbeat or an ebb tide, timepieces don't really keep time. They just keep up with it, if they're able."

"With is marine clocks, John Harrison tested the waters of space-time. He succeeded, against all odds, in using the fourth - temporal - dimension to link points on the three-dimensional globe. He wrested the word's whereabouts from the stars, and locked the secret in a pocket watch."

Sobel is a good storyteller. Her description, at the beginning of the final chapter, of standing on the prime meridian of the world and how it is lit up these days in Greenwich, at the Old Royal Observatory, makes me want to see it for myself.

132jessibud2
Modifié : Août 18, 2016, 8:55 am

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

"Jean Perdu is a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter that he has never opened."

This was the blurb on the back of the book and it absolutely grabbed me. I really wanted to love this book. The title, the premise, what could be bad? Problem is, I felt it was sappy and it never lived up to its potential. Most of the characters seemed one-dimensional and I felt no real connection to any of them (and there were too many of them!). The plot line, such as it was, was too meandering and thin. I actually put it down about halfway through but came back to it, hoping that maybe it was just me, needing a break. I didn't abandon it altogether but I skimmed through to the end and felt I missed nothing. There were some good book quotes but not enough to save it. I really hate feeling let down by a book I had high hopes for but, c'est la vie...

133kidzdoc
Août 18, 2016, 6:44 am

Nice reviews of Longitude and The Little Paris Bookshop, Shelley. I have read at least one other unfavorable review of George's novel, so I'll pass on it.

134jessibud2
Modifié : Août 30, 2016, 3:08 pm

>133 kidzdoc: - It was interesting to read other reviews (after I finished the book) of The Little Paris Bookshop. People either seemed to love it or feel as I did, really disappointed. In fact, it made me chuckle to read the exact words I used: "I really wanted to love this book but...", more than once. Not much in between those two extremes. Ah well, so it goes sometimes.

I currently have three more books on my bedside table with bookmarks about halfway through them. Books I started, was doing *ok* with but never finished for one reason or another, mostly, I suspect, lack of a gripping tale. They aren't bad books and I am trying to go back and finish them without abandoning them altogether. I usually have a sort of rule for my reading: 50 or so pages, or one week. If a book doesn't grab me by then, ditch it and move on. Life is too short and there is ALWAYS a next book waiting. I am feeling that I really want something to grab me and hold me....

135PaulCranswick
Août 18, 2016, 7:43 am

>132 jessibud2: C'est la vie indeed, Shelley. I would have picked it up for the blurb too almost certainly.

136johnsimpson
Août 19, 2016, 3:44 pm

Hi Shelley, hope you are having a good Friday my dear and hope you have a really lovely weekend, sending love and hugs.

137jessibud2
Modifié : Sep 8, 2016, 9:55 pm

The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. (touchstone not even close).

I listened to this on audiobook mainly because of the reader, Sunil Malhotra. He narrated Abraham Verghese's Cutting for Stone and it was that book and reading that made me a fan for life of this actor (and that author!). Malhotra is a master at accents and verbal nuance. Despite the numerous characters, I could always tell whose voice I was hearing, so distinct was his characterizations.

Although this was a decent story, it wasn't of the calibre of Verghese. In the end, I felt it was ok, but not outstanding. Anil Patel is the first in his family to go to college and he goes on to study medicine in the United States. There are many subplots and tangential stories going on in this book and while the author does a fairly good job of tying them together, not all work out satisfactorily, in my opinion.

I do have another book by this author on my physical shelf but I think I will wait awhile before picking that one up.

138jessibud2
Modifié : Sep 10, 2016, 7:21 am

Black Berry, Sweet Juice by Lawrence Hill (author of The Book of Negroes and The Illegal).

Published in 2001, this is Lawrence Hill's attempt to understand and define identity through the eyes of Canadians who have one white parent and one black parent. He includes lots of personal stories from his own life and his family's history. But he also interviews many people to learn and understand how each one defines his or her own identity. Hill discusses how the language of identity and race have determined and shaped how a person self-defines, society in general and how race is actually a social construct and not an exact, measurable science. I learned some shocking history of racism in Canada. Not that I doubt it existed and still does, but I did not know, for example, that the KKK came to Oakville, Ontario in 1930 to try to prevent a black man and a white woman from attempting to get married. The story of what happened is something you just couldn't make up! I did not know that the KKK had ever been north of the border.

I would love to have heard from some of the famous people I know who, like Hill, have one white and one black parent. People such as Malcolm Gladwell, Matt Galloway (a local radio personality on CBC), even Barack Obama or Halle Berry (although the last two would not have qualified for this particular book as they are not Canadian).

I found it to be a fascinating read.

139jessibud2
Sep 8, 2016, 5:46 pm

The Writer's Quotation Book was a quick and fun read. Some of the quotes were good, some mediocre. Here are a few I particularly enjoyed:


Joseph Brodsky - There is no doubt in my mind that, should we have been choosing our leaders on the basis of their reading experience and not their political programs, there would be much less grief on earth.

Don Marquis - The art of newspaper paragraphing is to stroke a platitude until it purrs like an epigram.

Jawaharlal Nehru - All my major works have been written in prison...I would recommend prison not only to aspiring writers but to aspiring politicians, too.

Tom Lehrer - I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up.

Andre Maurois - In literature, as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.

Samuel Johnson - Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good.

Daniel J. Boorstin - Best-Sellerism is the star system of the book world. A *best-seller* is a celebrity among books. It is known primarily (sometimes exclusively) for its well-known-ness.

John Osbourne - Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs.

140jessibud2
Modifié : Sep 9, 2016, 1:22 pm

So interesting and serendipitous that the audiobook currently in my cd player is one I picked up yesterday: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It is read by him and I think that makes it all the more powerful and authentic. So interesting because I just yesterday finished reading (in regular book format) Black Berry Sweet Juice by Lawrence Hill (this was not a conscious choice, to select this audiobook, after that book!). Both men write about identity, specifically, black identity, in the world we live in today, as well as how history informs that identity. Both men come at it from totally different places and perspectives, both are writers by profession, incredibly articulate and eloquent. I have read books by Hill before but this is my first introduction to Coates. I am really liking that he is reading it to me. And I am rivetted.... It is only 3 discs (unabridged) and I am already in the middle of disc 2. I may just bring it in from the car so I can finish it today

141kidzdoc
Sep 10, 2016, 3:41 am

Nice review of Black Berry, Sweet Juice, Shelley. I'll add it to my wish list.

142jessibud2
Modifié : Sep 19, 2016, 7:13 am

I just finished Between the World and Me, unabridged on audiobook, 3 discs. Reader by the author.

This one will stay with me for awhile. Ta-Nehisi Coates is so eloquent, it is stunning. He is poetic, he is a philosopher. Above all, he is honest to the core. Raw. Nothing sugar-coated. Throughout this book, I felt, on the one hand, profoundly sad at how humans treat one another. I feel ashamed - not because I am white but because I am human. I have often thought - and much more so now after reading this book - about what is wrong with our species. Why are people, throughout history, not just in our current world, so cruel? I listen to the garbage that spews from the likes of Donald Trump, I see the evil that terrorists spread in the name of so-called religion, and I wonder, how can anyone feel hope? How can anyone want to bring children into this world?

Yet, for all that, through all he has lived through and seen and witnessed, I think Coates is hopeful. He does not subscribe to hatred. This book is a letter to his son (who would be, I believe, 16 years old now). It is filled with love and hope - all that he wants to impart to his son, but filled also with truth and honesty. It is truly a gift.

{My one teeny complaint about the audio (that I'm guessing would not have come across in print), is his pronunciation of the word *ask* as *ax*. I know that this is a cultural linguistic nuance but he is so educated and so articulate and eloquent that it just seems incongruous to the rest of the narrative. And he used it inconsistently, too; sometimes saying *ax* and other times saying *ask*. Maybe this is just the teacher in me, being pedantic...}

143kidzdoc
Sep 19, 2016, 3:07 am

Great review of Between the World and Me, Shelley! I really need to get to it.

I share your distaste of "aks"! I hear that mispronunciation of "ask" by people in Atlanta, mostly African-American but some Caucasians as well, many of whom should know better. I'm certain that Coates knows better as well, but I would also bet that this pronunciation is the one he grew up with, and that once it's ingrained that way it's nearly impossible to pronounce it properly.

On a similar vein I've been trying for years to get my mother to stop saying "liberry" instead of "library". She is well spoken and pronounces everything else (including "ask") correctly, though.

144jessibud2
Sep 19, 2016, 7:22 am

>143 kidzdoc: - Thanks, Darryl. For some reason, I thought you had already read the Coates book. If it is at all possible for you to do so, I would really recommend the audio version. It is only 3 discs, unabridged. I am a big fan of audiobooks, in general, and readily admit that not all authors are good readers. Coates is, though, (except for the *ax* ;-) and I think the emotion that comes through lends an extra layer of authenticity to the book that may not be apparent in a physical reading. His voice is a quiet one, calm but not flat or boring. Anyhow, just a thought.

145jessibud2
Sep 19, 2016, 4:38 pm

Mountain City Girls: The McGarrigle Family Album

I really enjoyed this family memoir, written by the 2 older sisters of the late Kate McGarrigle. I took breaks in reading this to listen to a CD I have of Kate & Anna, called Matapedia, and I also watched the delightful short animated film produced by the NFB (National Film Board) for which they did the soundtrack while still part of a group called the Mountain City Four, called The Log Driver's Waltz (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upsZZ2s3xv8), a true Canadian classic.

This family story/memoir, told alternately by Anna and Jane, tells of their family's history, their growing up years, and beyond. Plenty of name-dropping, told incidentally, as it involved them. I loved the references to many familiar place names (I grew up in Montreal though a good decade or more later than they did). There is something about seeing your own city, whether in a book or on screen, that is kind of exciting, even when the places themselves are hardly glamorous! There are sections of photos as well, which I was happy to see.

The next generation of McGarrigle kids are also a talented bunch: Rufus and Martha Wainwright (Kate's kids), Lily Lanken (Anna's daughter). Anna and Jane are in their 70s now and are both still involved in music, in one form or another. And writing! Thankfully.

146jessibud2
Sep 22, 2016, 4:13 pm

Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase by Louise Walters. I listened to this on audiobook.

This debut novel is really two stories, decades apart. Dorothy Sinclair, whose story unfolds in the early days of World War II, in England, and her granddaughter, Roberta, a worker in a bookshop in 2010. The blurb on the back says, in part, "Gripping and utterly absorbing, Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase is a spellbinding tale of two worlds, on shattered by secrets and the other by the truth."

The two actresses who read the two character's parts had voices that were sometimes indistinguishable but in truth, I found the character of Roberta to become more insufferable as the story progressed and her story to turn rather maudlin. Dorothy's story, on the other hand, was indeed gripping and so very heartbreaking. I suspect it might have been better in reading than in listening though I also think it might have been a perfectly good story had the author focused on Dorothy and not tried to drag Roberta into it at all. But then again, I'm no author and what do I know....

147johnsimpson
Sep 30, 2016, 3:47 pm

Hi Shelley, just catching up with threads I have been scant in visiting, please forgive me. Hope you have had a lovely week my dear and send love and hugs.

148jessibud2
Sep 30, 2016, 6:17 pm

>147 johnsimpson: - Thank you, John, and wishing the same to you.

It's finally autumn here and I for one, welcome it! :-)

149PaulCranswick
Oct 8, 2016, 11:04 pm

Shelley, I am finally getting caught up after spending a week in Ghana after my UK trip. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. xx

150johnsimpson
Oct 9, 2016, 3:39 pm

Happy Thanksgiving my dear.

151jessibud2
Oct 9, 2016, 4:01 pm

>149 PaulCranswick: - Thanks, Paul. I've been lurking but not posting much lately. No reason, just laziness, I guess

> 150 - Thank you, John. It's a truly beautiful autumn day here, bright sun, a bit windy and a definite chill in the air. I so much prefer this weather to the heat and humidity we endured over the long summer! I even put away the sandals and am wearing proper shoes and socks!

152jessibud2
Modifié : Oct 19, 2016, 10:37 am

Radio Shangri-La by Lisa Napoli.

This is a memoir of a woman in her forties who learns to find and create her own happiness. That it takes a trip to Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth, is almost coincidental. As with much in life, every decision taken or not taken, has consequences and learning to follow them and learn from them is the take-way I got from this book. A few quotes that spoke to me:

- Most important, I was learning to slow down, to sit with myself and the uncertainties of the future. To enjoy not knowing what was next, instead of fearing and panicking over what might be. To appreciate the success I'd had instead of dwelling on my failure to have accomplished more.

- Most compelling to me were the underlying principles of the religion (Buddhism): Compassion for all beings, and the interconnectedness of everyone. The ideals of wisdom and knowledge. Self-reliance. Acceptance and forgiveness. What you possessed and achieved wasn't what was important...Most religions espoused similar values, but there was something about the Buddhist approach to delivering the message that spoke to me...

- The mysteries of the brain and emotion, of letting go, of moving on...Clinging to a person or place or moment in time was futile and unwise and led to suffering; so did wanting things to be different than they were.

- I've learned that the ingredients for happiness are simple: giving, loving, and contentment with who you are.

- For a minute, I try to imagine how different my life would have played out had I......The only thing that's certain is that I would not have had the experiences I've had....I (now) understand how each decision has consequences. I also see the preposterousness of thinking you can have it all, much less trying to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I personally am not Buddhist or even religious in any way. But the concepts Lisa Napoli ruminates on in this book are, I think, quite universal and gave me a lot to think about. Maybe it's because I have recently retired from working and have been thinking about such things, who knows... The book, by the way, isn't just philosophy. Napoli describes in great detail not just her experiences in Bhutan but the also the landscape, the architecture, the people, the food and the culture shock upon returning to Los Angeles. Also, how she experienced the culture shock of her Bhutanese friend when she brought her to the US for the first time. It's a fun read overall

153PaulCranswick
Oct 22, 2016, 4:46 am

>152 jessibud2: I am all for universal concepts, Shelley; how often does (dis)organised religion spoil and pervert the beauty and commonality of shared values?

On that unusually heavy note for me, I will wish you a wonderful weekend. xx

154jessibud2
Oct 23, 2016, 9:25 am

A little break from the books, only to jump into the political fray. I have to say, I have not had the stomach to actually watch any of the debates. The news update/soundbytes have been more than enough. But I have tremendously enjoyed the humour that is out there. These 2 are my most recent favourites:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/trumpbookreport?f=tweets&vertical=news (can barely keep up they are being added to so quickly)

and, as only Weird Al can, so brilliantly,
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/opinion/bad-hombres-nasty-women-the-presidenti...

155vancouverdeb
Oct 23, 2016, 6:48 pm

I've been enjoying out takes from Saturday Night Live as well as Trevor Noah, as far as the debates go. I watched part of the second debate and the entire 3rd debate. At least there is humour to be found in Trump. This Hour has 22 Minutes on CBC is also good for taking the American political scene with humour.

156jessibud2
Oct 23, 2016, 6:55 pm

>155 vancouverdeb: - Gotta love Rick Mercer. During the interminable Harper years, I was all for Mercer for Prime Minister - he'd have been great, for speaking the truth if nothing else. I really love that guy!

157jessibud2
Modifié : Oct 29, 2016, 3:41 pm

The Hare with Amber Eyes

I found this to be a well-written and thorough personal journey. I happen to really enjoy this genre, especially when there is a family tree at the beginning, to follow the story from generation to generation. Still, I did find it a bit slow at the beginning and actually put it down for a few months upon hitting the half-way point. It was good, engaging and I did not want to abandon it. I picked it up again a few days ago and found the latter half of the book much easier and more interesting and was able to finish without any problems.

The author, Edmund de Waal, the British-born son of a Dutch clergyman in the Church of England, has inherited a set of 264 small *netsuke* - tiny wood and ivory carvings from Japan - from his great uncle, who lived in Tokyo. De Waal, a ceramicist, is struck by their beauty and decides to trace their origin and journeys over 5 generations through his family. His discovery of the journeys take him to Vienna, Paris, Odessa, and Japan and he traces the history of a very prominent, wealthy Jewish dynasty who were decimated by the Nazis during World War II. All that remained of their wealth was this collection of netsuke, hidden and rediscovered, after the war. It took De Waal over 2 years to reconstruct the story and write this book and his obsession to do so is our gain.

158johnsimpson
Oct 24, 2016, 3:51 pm

Hi Shelley, hope you had a good weekend my dear and you are ok, sending love and hugs.

159msf59
Oct 29, 2016, 2:06 pm

Happy Saturday, Shelley! Hope you are getting some R & R in. Good review of The Hare with Amber Eyes. I had heard about this book some years ago but rarely ever seen it mentioned around here...until now, that is. Grins...

160vancouverdeb
Oct 29, 2016, 8:17 pm

Thanks for all the info re Wenjack and Gord Downie, Shelley! Much appreciated. I too found Joseph Boyden too intense , but yes, I do think that Wenjack is an easy way in -and maybe the only book you will want to read by Joseph Boyden.

Those Harper years really were interminable. Yes, I am also a fan of Rick Mercer as well as This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Nice review of The Hare with Amber Eyes . That is one I've yet to get too.

161PaulCranswick
Oct 30, 2016, 8:17 pm

Yay for Boyden. Boo for politics. Yay for humour. Boo for Mondays.

Yay for Shelley. xx

162jessibud2
Oct 30, 2016, 8:26 pm

>161 PaulCranswick: - You crack me up, Paul... :-)

163johnsimpson
Nov 1, 2016, 5:26 pm

Hi Shelley, I am just doing the rounds as I have been a bit neglectful of late. I hope you are well my dear and send love and hugs.

164vancouverdeb
Nov 1, 2016, 6:16 pm

Stopping by to say hi, Shelley! What! Paul doesn't like politics! :) Right now in Britain , things are tense and I suppose also in the USA ( well, I don't suppose ). Thankfully we got rid of Harper and more or less, it's all good! :)

165PaulCranswick
Nov 1, 2016, 7:10 pm

>164 vancouverdeb: I suppose I should have said "Boo for politicians"; politics per se is fine. xx

166jessibud2
Nov 1, 2016, 7:29 pm

>164 vancouverdeb: - If the US situation wasn't so scary, it would be quite hilarious. That Trump is such a buffoon. Of course, Toronto had a smaller taste of such crass idiocy when we had Rob Ford as our mayor for a few years but he was only a mayor and the consequences were not nearly as dire. Other than that, though, the similarities (in personality) are plenty. Rich, right-wing, loud, foul-mouthed, full of themselves. I won't go on. If only Trump had done cocaine and a video would emerge..... ;-p

Anyhow, only one more week of this nonsense.

I have been going to a Friday morning lecture series here in Toronto called *America Votes*, hosted by the CBC's Alison Smith. So far, it has been really fascinating and I have been learning a lot:

http://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/WebSales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=54804~fff311b7-cdad...;

I like that the final lecture is on the Friday after the election, a debriefing of sorts for us. It's funny, Alison was saying last week how, after every Friday morning session, something seems to happen to change everything. For instance, our first session was about Trump. That Friday evening, the video emerged. Anyhow, how many more *surprises* can there be, with only a week left? I probably shouldn't say that out loud, should I....?

167msf59
Nov 2, 2016, 6:58 am

Go Cubs! Thanks for all your loving support, Shelley! Let's get this done!

I am so glad that our Cubbies are taking our minds off this ugly election cycle. Ugh!

168jessibud2
Nov 2, 2016, 7:31 am

>167 msf59: - Tonight's the night, Mark. With rain in the forecast, I really wish you could all just come here, to our domed stadium and play *indoors*, as they say when the roof is closed!

169jessibud2
Nov 2, 2016, 4:55 pm

I just finished the unabridged audiobook called Daring by Gail Sheehy. (touchstone TOTALLY WRONG!!)

It was ok. A little too much *famous people name-dropping* for my taste but then, that was the life she led, so it was what it was. She was quite a prolific and groundbreaking journalist and author. She wrote the *Passages* series, from back in the1970s, 80s and 90s, as well as several character bios of famous politicians, both in the Vanity Fair magazine as well as in book format, including portraits of Gorbachev, Anwar Sadat, Margaret Thatcher and a profile of Hillary Clinton, called Hillary's Choice (published in 1999)

This book, Daring, is her memoir, her own *passages*, as it were. Overall, I enjoyed it. I can't remember just now who the reader was but I have heard her before and I know that was probably a factor in why I didn't like this audiobook as much as I might have. In fact, I think she may have also narrated another of Sheehy's books I listened to once, Middletown, America which was about the aftermath of trauma from 9-11. I remember it being very long and I only stuck with it because the story itself was compelling, and the narrator was awful.

Apparently, I only realized this about halfway through this one.

170jessibud2
Nov 3, 2016, 4:59 pm

Notes to the Future - Nelson Mandela

This is a collection of quotes by Mandela, gathered from various letters, speeches, journals by him to others, through his years of imprisonment and through to the first decade of this century. Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote the introduction and even his first words were a surprise to me: "The book that you hold in your hands is nothing short of a miracle. The words it contains were denied to the world for almost four decades. From December 1952 when Nelson...Mandela was banned by the apartheid government until his glorious release in February 1990, it was a crime punishable by imprisonment to quote him or his writings. Mandela had been all but silenced..."

I had not known this. It boggles the mind. The book is divided into sections, titled Struggle, Victory, Wisdom, Future, and each section contains quotes by Mandela from various times and occasions. The book ends with the text of his speech upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

There are so many quotes worthy of reprinting here, but I will try to keep my selections short. I have noted the dates of each quote but for the sake of brevity, I am not noting the specific occasion and location of them:

- It will forever remain an accusation and a challenge to all men and women of conscience that it took as long as it has, before all of us stood up to say enough is enough (1990)

- If there is one lesson we can learn from the struggle against racism, in our country as well as yours {USA}, it is that racism must be consciously combatted, and not discreetly tolerated. (1993)

- Let this, however, be clear: there is no place in a democracy for any community or section of a community to impose its will at the expense of the fundamental rights of any other citizen. (1993)

- Our differences are our strength as a species and as a world community. (2002)

- Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person fro another. (1994)

- We must ensure that colour, race and gender become only a God-given gift to each one of us and not an indelible mark or attribute that accords a special status to any. (1994)

- A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones (1994)

- In human affairs, no single person, organization or social formation ever has a final or an absolutely correct position. It is through conversation, debate and critical discussion that we approach positions that may provide workable solutions. (2003)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are so many more but I will leave it at these.

One thing was glaringly obvious to me in reading this small book now, perhaps especially given the current political situation in the US: Mandela was a man of great humanity, wisdom, compassion and patience. He inherently knew and understood people, and had innate common decency. He is so opposite to Donald Trump that it almost seems to me that Trump must be a sub-species, someone who could not possibly be of the same species as a Mandela. And aside from being a frightening thought, it is also a repulsive prospect that he is even where he is today, regardless of what next week brings. Normally, if I am about to say something unkind or unpleasant about someone, I would preface it with *with all due respect*, but in the case of Trump, using the word *respect* in any context in the same sentence with the man who has no idea what the word means, is simply impossible. I wonder what Mandela would make of him. No doubt, he would manage to find something kinder to say than what's in my head and heart.

Anyhow, the book was a little gem and it came at a good time.

(grr. Touchstone totally wrong)

171PaulCranswick
Nov 5, 2016, 10:50 pm

>170 jessibud2: Interesting book of quotations. I like the penultimate quote best - it seems to suit the man perfectly.

Have a lovely weekend. xx

172vancouverdeb
Nov 6, 2016, 6:49 pm

Hi Shelley! Are you are tenterhooks about what the Giller Prize might be, never mind the USA election stuff! :)

173jessibud2
Nov 7, 2016, 10:08 am

>172 vancouverdeb: - I am embarrassed to admit this but I haven't read any of the Giller shortlist, although I have heard good things about the Thien book. Not so much, about the Donoghue, and I just don't know enough about the other 3. Have you read them all?

175PaulCranswick
Nov 7, 2016, 10:43 pm

Giller Prize is more interesting than the US election though isn't it? Hurry up HRC and win and we can all move on.

176jessibud2
Modifié : Jan 12, 2020, 11:14 am

In-Between Days by Teva Harrison (touchstone wrong again).

This is a sort of graphic novel style book. Comics and short narratives drawn and written by Teva Harrison, who was diagnosed at age 37 (3 years ago) with metastatic breast cancer. It's a chronicle of her journey and was a quick read, at once heart-breaking and uplifting. She was American by birth but has lived here in Toronto for years. I first heard of this book when I heard an interview with her on the radio when it was published earlier this year. In fact, she will be speaking at my local library next Tuesday and I am hoping to go see her. She is a brave, talented and articulate woman ( one of the blurbs on the cover is by Joseph Boyden who has high praise for this memoir!)

177msf59
Nov 10, 2016, 7:17 pm

Hi, Shelley! In-Between Days sounds good. I love these type of GN memoirs.

Thanks again for all your thoughtful and insightful comments about our election. Yesterday was tough but today was a bit better. Trying to stay positive and hopeful.

178jessibud2
Nov 10, 2016, 7:19 pm

Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen, one of my favourite authors. I was so happy to see a new book by her at the library. I grabbed this unabridged audiobook and was truly blown away by the narrator, Brittany Pressley. She does a truly outstanding job of bringing the characters in this book to life. This, from the blurb on the back:

"...is a masterly study of family, memory, loss, and ultimately finding true identity and a new vision of home..."

It is all that and more, told with an intimacy and vision that really touches the heart of the reader in unexpected ways. The Millers are a simple, ordinary family that are timeless. I really enjoyed this one.

179jessibud2
Nov 10, 2016, 7:24 pm

>177 msf59: - Mark, I have been attending a Friday morning lecture series, called *America Votes* for the past 6 weeks. Tomorrow is our last one, a *debrief* and it should be fascinating. I haven't posted about it here, I don't think but I probably should. Here is a blurb:

http://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/WebSales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=54804~fff311b7-cdad...;

It has been really exceptional so far and I expect tomorrow's round-up to be just as good. Alison Smith, the moderator, was a CBC journalist for years and her guest speakers each week have been equally as good. I will update here tomorrow.

180vancouverdeb
Nov 11, 2016, 5:02 am

I'd read just a couple of books from the Giller Shortlist, The Wonder and Do Not Say We Have Nothing. I enjoyed The Wonder , and I had not expected to do so. It was a good yarn, but not what I thought was Giller worthy. I did better reading the Governor General's short list, having read The Parcel by Anosh Irani, The Break by Katherena Vermette. I try to read from the prize lists in Canada, depending on much they appeal to me.

181johnsimpson
Nov 12, 2016, 4:32 pm

Hi Shelley, hope you are having a good weekend my dear, sending love and hugs.

182jessibud2
Nov 12, 2016, 4:37 pm

>181 johnsimpson: - Hi John, thanks and you too. It's turned chilly here though I can hardly complain as the warm autumn has really been long and wonderful. I can wait for the snow though

183johnsimpson
Nov 12, 2016, 4:42 pm

>182 jessibud2:, We had a small taste of snow on Tuesday although they had more than us in the Yorkshire Dales but nothing compared to what you get. I do think that we will get quite a bit more over the coming months as this is the earliest we have had snow around by us for a number of years. I must say that I do like a decent downfall and hopefully we will get one for a change.

184jessibud2
Nov 21, 2016, 9:17 pm

I mostly use this thread to log my reads. But even though I am not American, I have been following the recent American political scene fairly closely.

I saw this today and I find this not only appalling and horrific, but frankly, sick. And scary:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/us/alt-right-salutes-donald-trump.html?_r=1

Or, as was stated in another article, about this same event, https://www.ushmm.org/information/press/press-releases/museum-condemns-white-nat..., :"The Holocaust did not begin with killing; it began with words." A powerful, direct, timely statement.

I have a few other thoughts, but probably shouldn't air them in friendly company. All I can say is that I am grateful that my grandparents aren't alive to be witnessing this. Again...

185vancouverdeb
Nov 22, 2016, 5:20 pm

>184 jessibud2: Oh I know and I so agree. It is really hard to ignore politics. The Holocaust did not begin with killing; it began with words." A powerful, direct, timely statement. At least Rick Mercer and this Hour has 22 Minutes is on tonight. Humour always helps.

186jessibud2
Modifié : Nov 22, 2016, 6:25 pm

>185 vancouverdeb: - Did I miss it or has he not yet weighed in on his reaction to the election? I was waiting for it....I'll have to go to his website and look back. Nothing beats Rick's Rants

187msf59
Nov 22, 2016, 5:58 pm

"The Holocaust did not begin with killing; it began with words." That is a great quote, Shelley and a strong reminder.

188msf59
Nov 22, 2016, 6:43 pm

That NYT article is truly scary, Shelley! I can not believe we still live in an age, where this type of thinking is still so prevalent.

189jessibud2
Modifié : Nov 26, 2016, 1:59 pm

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.

Such a compelling read. This highly intelligent, compassionate and talented young neurosurgeon/neuroscientist tells the story of his life: a life of study, of commitment, of deep and serious thought and of meaning. Most of all, a life of meaning, something that was central and vital to his being. A life cut short by cancer. Unbelievable.

He was also a man of humour. Near the end, he quotes from a letter he wrote to a friend in which he mentioned that he had outlived a few famous authors (he named them; I can't find that passage to quote it exactly, right now). He said, the good news is, that he has outlived _______. The bad news, though, is that he himself hadn't written anything. Of course, this book was ultimately finished by his wife and published posthumously. And it is a stunning legacy to those he left behind, including an 8-month-old daughter.

The wonderful doctor/author, Abraham Verghese, wrote the foreword to this book. And on the back cover, there is a blurb by another excellent doctor/author, Atul Gawande: "Rattling, heartbreaking, and ultimately beautiful, the too-young Dr. Kalanithi's memoir is proof that the dying are the ones who have the most to teach us about life."

Paul Kalanithi was only 37 when he passed away, in March of 2015.

Edited to add: It's Saturday, and I just turned on the radio. CBC has a wonderful program called *White Coat, Black Art*, hosted by Dr. Brian Goldman. Today just happens to be a interview with Lucy Kalanithi, about the book, about Paul. Wow. This book has been much on my mind since finishing it, the other day. To turn on the radio and hear this, now, is almost eerie, yet perfect. I missed the first 10 minutes of the program but will go back and listen to it now.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/how-to-live-well-even-when-you-re-dying-a-youn...

190jessibud2
Modifié : Déc 1, 2016, 4:23 pm

At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier. I listened to this on audiobook, narrated by 4 separate narrators. I am a huge fan of this author and was looking forward to this book. Early on, though, I was feeling disappointed; I didn't like one of the main characters, enough that I almost decided to abandon the book. But it is only 7 discs and I know enough about her writing to know that it was likely to get better. I am really happy that I stuck it out, because as soon as Part 2 began, it did.

The story follows the life of Robert Goodenough, in 1838, when he and his parents and siblings settle in a rough swampy area of Ohio, and try to live off the land. James, the father, is obsessed with trees, specifically apple trees. John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) figures as a character in their lives. It is a rough life, and not a pleasant one. Chevalier captures the raw, bleak and difficult atmosphere so clearly that it was almost painful. After a violent incident, Robert, still a young boy, runs away and makes his way west, finding work where he can as he crosses the country. He writes to his family once a year, on New Year's Day, but after 18 years of no response, finally stops. He settles in California, tries his hand at gold prospecting but eventually find work with an English naturalist who collects seeds and saplings of the giant redwoods and sequoias and sends them to England. Then, in 1853, life changes abruptly for Robert when... well, no spoilers here. Just when you think you know where this is going, you'd be wrong. I was riveted to the end.

I still have another, older book by Chevalier on my shelf that I haven't read and may just dive into that one soon. She is a really good writer

191msf59
Déc 1, 2016, 4:24 pm

Sweet Thursday, Shelley! So glad you liked When Breath Becomes Air. It is a special book. I especially, liked the latter part, written by his wife.

192jessibud2
Modifié : Déc 1, 2016, 4:37 pm

>191 msf59: - And to you, Mark!

Did you notice the link I included at the end of my review? It's an interview with his wife from earlier this year and is a terrific interview. Very uplifting and positive. It was such a coincidence that it was on the radio on the very day I finished the book and wrote the review. I also learned I had been mispronouncing *Kalanithi*. ;-)

193vancouverdeb
Déc 1, 2016, 5:28 pm

Great reviews of both When Breath Becomes Air, as well as At the Edge of of the of the Orchard. I confess I've not been able to read When Breath Becomes Air. My dad passed away 9 1/2 years ago at the age of 66 of cancer. He had treatment, but ultimately he wanted to die at home. While I am so happy we were able to do that as a family, it was kind of shocking to see my dad die in front of me, with my family. My dad was such a character and such a big presence in my life, it was hard to take it in . 66 just seemed too
young.

On a happier note , I got out to the second hand bookstore yesterday and found a copy of Sylvanus Now by Donna Morrisey. I''m still reading Kit's Law but I was delighted to find a couple of books by Donna Morrisey. My local library does not have much in the way of that author. Always culling books, it seems.

194jessibud2
Déc 1, 2016, 6:17 pm

>193 vancouverdeb: - My dad also died young, at 65, but it was a long time ago (21 years, to be exact, right on my birthday, too). I understand your reluctance to read such a book, especially so soon, when feelings are still raw.

I am heading out the door now to fill up my car. I just heard on the news that gas will jump by 4 cents overnight, and another 5 cents by Sunday. Not sure if this is across Canada or just here in Ontario but might as well. I have a brand new audiobook to pop into the CD player, as I suspect there will be lines at most gas stations, as reported on the news.

I might just make Kit's Law my final book of this year! My friend who recommended it will be so happy! She's been after me for years to get to it!

195vancouverdeb
Déc 1, 2016, 6:41 pm

Living in the Vancouver area, we are so used to the Carbon taxes, transit taxes etc being added to our gasoline that I don't pay much attention to the price. I hope you enjoy Kit's Law if you get a chance to read it this year!

196PaulCranswick
Déc 4, 2016, 2:07 am

Shelley, I hope the queues have reduced and that your car is full and your audio is entertaining.

Have a lovely weekend, my dear.

I have proven pretty poor at predicting elections this year but it is the Ghana elections this coming week and I have a pig in the poke, I suppose. A win for the opposition there would be bad for our business and for Ghana too. Fingers crossed.

197jessibud2
Déc 5, 2016, 9:44 pm

>196 PaulCranswick: - Paul, would that disastrous outcome speed your move back to the UK, do you think? Or is that going to happen, regardless?

198jessibud2
Modifié : Déc 11, 2016, 1:55 pm

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey. I finally finished this book. I have to admit, marching to my own drum again, that despite the majority of glowing reviews, I found this book a real slog to get through. I was very interested in the premise, of how a woman with dementia is trying to find a friend she believes is missing. I was intrigued that the story was written in the first person, so the reader could experience how dementia affects memory and how the longer term memory seems far more intact than the immediate short-term memory. I once heard Alzheimer's described as being like a brick wall, with earliest memories at the bottom, the foundation, and newer experiences and memories added one layer at a time, throughout life. When Alzheimer's hits, it's as if the bricks are being removed, from the top (newer), down, such that the oldest memories are the last to go.

I was blown away by Lisa Genova's Still Alice, a few years ago and maybe that spoiled me and I expected this one to be as good. But I just found this book to be disjointed to the point of being unable to follow the plot. Too many loose ends, too many dead-end tangents that made no sense to me. The big reveal at the end also seemed so unrealistic to me, that my reaction was, "What?!" Also, in some of the reviews I've read, reviewers are saying that Maud is trying to figure out what happened 70 years ago (I don't actually remember that number). Maud is 82 years old (revealed in the last pages) so that would have made her 12 years old at the time of the earlier story. That simply isn't true. She was in her late teens, maybe even 20 or so, as she herself stated on more than one occasion.

I don't generally persist in reading a book I don't enjoy but forced myself through this one in the hope it would redeem itself but I found it an overall disappointment. Pity

199msf59
Déc 11, 2016, 1:37 pm

Happy Sunday, Shelley! I am bunkered down with the books today and loving every minute of it. i even got the "kids" to shovel for me.

Sorry, the Healey book was a letdown but I agree with you on Still Alice. Did you ever see the film version? It was also very good.

200jessibud2
Modifié : Déc 11, 2016, 1:56 pm

>199 msf59: - Yes, Mark, I did see the film. It was well done, even though I am not a fan of 2 of the actors in it (Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart). I also noticed a quirk that probably only I would notice: in the film, Julianne Moore is seen to be left-handed at the beginning (in a kitchen scene, writing something on the kitchen whiteboard, if I remember correctly) but later in the film, I noticed her writing with her right hand. I don't know why I notice these things but I do. Call me weird. You won't be the first! ;-)
I've read all Genova's books so far except for Left Neglected, which I have but just haven't got to yet. I still think Still Alice was the best though Inside the O'Briens was really well done, too. I listened to that one on audio. Her next book is going to be about ALS and I expect she will do an excellent job of it.

201msf59
Déc 11, 2016, 2:22 pm

I did not notice the blooper in the film but I did LOVE Moore's performance. She made the film work. I have been meaning to read Inside the O'Briens. I have had an audio copy since it came out.

202jessibud2
Déc 11, 2016, 3:11 pm

I agree that Moore really makes the film.
Do listen to the O'Briens - very well narrated and a heart-breaking story, so well-told.

203jessibud2
Déc 11, 2016, 9:13 pm

Has anyone read the book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley? (touchstone wrong)

I read it last year and was positively mesmerized by his gripping story. It is the true story of a young boy from a poor village in India, who gets separated from his older brother and ends up trapped in a train, thousands of miles away from home. At the age of 5, he doesn't know his last name or the name of his village and doesn't speak the language of Calcutta. He wanders the streets for months until he is finally taken to an orphanage. He is later adopted by a family from Australia and he grows up there, in a wonderful family.

Fast forward 25 years. He retains a vivid visual memory of his home village and the train station. After discovering Google Earth, he spends months searching and one day: a match. He recognizes the landmarks. He eventually goes to India to find his birth family. The book he wrote about this was un-put-downable. And just this week, the film version opened in theatres. Even though I am not a fan of Nicole Kidman (who plays his Australian mum), I am really looking forward to seeing it. It sure is getting a lot of buzz here. The film is called *Lion*. I hadn't understood the reason for the title change until hearing the explanation on a segment on *60 Minutes* tonight, Bill Whitaker's interview with Saroo Brierley:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-lion-movie-saroo-brierley-bill-whitaker/

204PaulCranswick
Déc 11, 2016, 11:12 pm

>197 jessibud2: Well the opposition duly won the election and it is a further little set-back.

I am determined to get back to the UK in the near term so let's see, Shelley. xx

205kidzdoc
Déc 12, 2016, 11:49 am

I'm sorry that you didn't like Elizabeth Is Missing, Shelley. I bought the Kindle version after Rhian recommended it to me, but I haven't read it yet.

Thanks for the plug for Still Alice; I've added it to my wish list.

A Long Way Home sounds good, too...ack! You're not helping with my plan to buy fewer books next year. ;-)

206jessibud2
Déc 12, 2016, 1:29 pm

>205 kidzdoc: - Oh, Darryl, do try to get to the Brierley book sooner rather than later. You can probably read it in one sitting (for sure, in one plane trip to wherever, ;-). It really is that good. Click on my link to the 60 Minutes interview from last night. At least, that.

In other news, I just today received my ER copy of a book I had requested, Loving Vs. Virginia, about the landmark civil rights case from 1955. It is a heavy, hefty hardcover book, with photos, drawings, maps, timelines, and is a visual work of art. It appears, at first browse, to be presented in poetry, or at least, in poetic format. I can't wait to dig into this one. It is heavy, though! I wonder how much it weighs... I am not sure I can read it in bed at night, in case it falls on my face! But it is a thing of beauty! So few of the good books are ever available for Canada, on the ER offerings, that I rarely ever request anymore. I was thrilled when this one was and even more excited when I won!

207kidzdoc
Modifié : Déc 12, 2016, 2:34 pm

>206 jessibud2: Sounds good, Shelley. I'll watch the 60 Minutes story later today or tomorrow.

Congratulations on winning Loving vs. Virginia! I always liked the title of that court case, which implied that the Commonwealth of Virginia was opposed to love.

208EBT1002
Déc 12, 2016, 6:19 pm

>203 jessibud2: What a fascinating story! I'm adding A Long Way Home to my wish list.

And I have been wanting to read Still Alice for a long while now. My MIL's name was Alice and she was one of the loveliest humans who ever breathed. We miss her still. Her last years were difficult as senility/Alzheimer's brought confusion and distress to a woman who had lived her life with joy, optimism, and one of the finest senses of humor I have known. She was 90 when she died, so the story is, of course, different, but the resonances have made me somewhat timid in approaching the Genova work.

I'm dropping off a star here on your thread, Shelley. I've enjoyed your visits over in my neighborhood.

209EBT1002
Modifié : Déc 12, 2016, 6:19 pm

>207 kidzdoc: Me, too. The title of the court case is just perfect and has always brought me glee.

210jessibud2
Déc 12, 2016, 6:58 pm

>207 kidzdoc:, 209 - Yes, that title makes me chuckle. Did they not realize it, originally? Hehe...

>208 EBT1002: - Ellen, the book is really good. Funny, I have a friend here in Toronto who is also an avid bookaholic. One day she phoned me and said she was reading SUCH a great book, and began to tell me about it. I cracked up and just asked her what page she was on because I was reading the same book at the same time! It was the Brierley book. Now, really, what are the odds, that completely unplanned and unknown to each other, we'd have picked up the same book at the same time? Anyhow, I hope the film does justice to it but from the positive buzz I've been hearing this week (well, last week actually), it sounds like it might be a good one. I was a bit bummed when I heard that Nicole Kidman was playing his adopted mom as I am not fond of her as an actress. I find her performances to be cold and Sue Brierley seemed to me to be anything but. But who knows. I look forward to being surprised.

211EBT1002
Modifié : Déc 12, 2016, 7:04 pm

>210 jessibud2: That is a wonderful story. That might have been a good day for both of you to buy lottery tickets....

I'm not a fan of Kidman, either. But I am optimistic and I'm pretty good at letting good films just flow over me.

212PaulCranswick
Déc 12, 2016, 7:55 pm

>208 EBT1002: I love the idea of dropping stars on the threads we like and often visit. Problem for me of course is that, being greedy, I try to visit virtually every thread in the group so starring them just gets me confused! I do star a number of threads of people who have threads in other groups who I have to remind myself to keep up with.

Since I have long been an admirer of your thread, Shelley, I am pleased to see the pace of posting over here so brisk. xx

213jessibud2
Déc 12, 2016, 8:26 pm

>212 PaulCranswick:- Hehe. It's all relative, Paul. Brisk, for me, would be dead, for you. This is still my first and only thread this year! I tend mostly to visit and participate in the threads of those I've starred as I have used my own mostly to track and review the books I've read. I'm a pretty slow reader in general and this has been a dismal reading year for me, on several levels. I've had a few reading slumps, plus, I seem to have chosen quite a few duds this year. But one never really knows until one is already into the book. That said, I've read some really good ones, too. I am already enjoying planning for next year. Beginning to, anyhow.

214PaulCranswick
Déc 12, 2016, 9:40 pm

Well, Shelley, a sure fire way to get a busy thread is to visit other people's threads and you are wll up there in that regard. xx

215EBT1002
Déc 12, 2016, 11:02 pm

>212 PaulCranswick: Paul, you are one of the best at inclusive and reliable thread-visiting.
As far as starring threads goes, it can be treacherous and sometimes I get overwhelmed when I see all the starred threads which I have only failed to visit recently. Maybe I should *stop* starring them....

>213 jessibud2: I'm enjoying some planning for next year, too, Shelley. Although, on that, as well, it's all relative. I need to leave flexibility for the library books that I've put on hold because when they come available, I just have to try to shoehorn them in!

216jessibud2
Déc 13, 2016, 12:10 pm


I love this time of year, when I can start to plan and organize my reading for next year. In theory, at least. I have baskets in which I place the books I hope to read, according to various categories. Sadly, this year, none of the baskets are empty yet.

But there is always next year. So, in the interest of doing better (and really, isn't that always the goal, anyhow?), I will try again. I would like to try to focus exclusively on reading some of the books that I currently own and are already on my physical shelves, and will select from those to slot into my categories. Except, of course, for audiobooks which I get almost always from the library.

I am not sure if Suzanne will be reprising her Non-Fiction challenge but if she does, I will certainly be partaking in that one. I already have 5 books ready for Mark's AAC and that's a good start. I have narrowed down my own categories for 2017 to 7 although there will undoubtedly be overlap as there are books that will satisfy more than one category (audiobooks, for example). So, this is what I'm thinking, so far; draft one, as there will likely be some tweaking before the calendar turns:

Can Lit - books by Canadian authors and/or that take place in Canadian settings.
Biography/Memoir - a genre I love
Non-fiction - (science, medicine, history, language, politics, whatever)
Nature - environment, animals, birding, etc
General Fiction - no shortage of choice here
Bookcrossing TBR books - plenty to get through here, too
Audiobooks - I always try to see if I can find an audio version of a book on my physical shelves as I seem to get through audios faster. But I live about equidistant from 4 libraries (all within 5 minutes of my house) and they all have a decent selection to choose from and what isn't available at one branch, can easily be brought in from another if it's in the system.

Don't ask me about acquisitions. I always try not to and always fail. I'm sure people here will be shocked at that confession. ;-)

217johnsimpson
Déc 13, 2016, 3:39 pm

Hi Shelley, like you I have been thinking about books to read next year but I don't have baskets to put them in, I have no doubts that I will be changing my mind once the year gets going and new books enter the household. Hope you are having a good week my dear and send love and hugs.

218kidzdoc
Déc 13, 2016, 7:30 pm

>216 jessibud2: Nice proposed outline for 2017, Shelley. Suzanne will renew the Nonfiction Reading Challenge next year, and she has already posted the monthly themes:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/242142#5815834

219jessibud2
Déc 13, 2016, 9:57 pm

>218 kidzdoc: - Thanks for the link, Darryl. I've starred it (not sure how it got unstarred...). Looks like an interesting lineup for next year

220PaulCranswick
Déc 17, 2016, 4:38 am

>216 jessibud2: Nice to see you planning away for next year Shelley. I didn't see B . A . and C. mentioned at all up there. :(

Have a lovely weekend, my dear.

221jessibud2
Déc 17, 2016, 7:35 am

>220 PaulCranswick: - Good morning, Paul. I will have to go back and have a look at your final selections for the BAC. I think I last looked when it was in early stages. Will do my best but am a rather slow reader and I don't think I have any of those in my house and I really want to try to focus on moving some of my in-house books in 2017. Maybe I can find some on audiobook in the library, though. That would work!

Woke up this morning to another winter wonderland - we've had close to 15 cm fall over the last 48 hours and when it's still fresh and white, it's beautiful. As soon as the city wakes up and cars start moving, it will turn icky. Temps are rising and the snow that is still falling will soon turn to rain or freezing rain, then of course when the temps drop toward evening, it will all be horrible ice again. Great day for hibernating which is exactly what I plan to do. A little cooking, a little reading, a little household chores, etc, etc. Maybe watch a movie on tv. I will also shovel the walk and driveway, too.

222maelinor
Déc 17, 2016, 7:56 am

Hello Canadians whilst you are experiencing a winter wonderland, here in Western Australia we are at the start of our summer and the days just keep getting hotter so I need to hibernate with the air conditioning on and a good book. I'm looking for some advice as I notice that audio books are mentioned a bit here and there, I was given a Kindle as a gift and although I kept saying I'd never use it I have been tempted and even though I still buy 'real' books because I love the feel of a book in my hands I need to know if I can add the downloaded books to my library on LT. What is the consensus on the subject of downloaded books. Library Thing or not?

223jessibud2
Déc 17, 2016, 8:13 am

Hi there! I am also very much a physical-book-in-my-hands type of person. I do listen to a lot of audiobooks (CDs) but only in my car (and occasionally when I bring them inside if I can't wait to finish them!). I don't own any sort of e-reader (kindle, kobo, whatever they are called these days) but I know that many people do. I can certainly see the convenience aspect of them, during travel, for example. I can't speak for others but I would think that they are a perfectly acceptable form of reading for many LTers. It is 2016 (almost 17!), after all. It's usually just me who is the dinosaur in most things *techie*. So, I'd say, if you are tempted and you already have it, go for it!

Thanks for stopping by

224torontoc
Déc 17, 2016, 8:19 am

I have a Kobo and I use it when I am travelling- I don't have to take 6 books in my luggage!
Have a nice day inside- that is what I am going to do - there is just too much snow and rain forecasted!

225jessibud2
Déc 17, 2016, 8:25 am

Hi Cyrel. I am currently listening to an audiobook by David Bezmozgis, called The Betrayers (wrong touchstone) and it's interesting so far. In fact, this is an example of bringing it in. I kind of knew what was coming, weather-wise and knew I wouldn't be going anywhere in my car any time soon this weekend so I brought it in so I could finish it. When I read the blurb on the back, I thought it might be about the Russian dissident Natan Scharansky, from back in the 70s. Do you remember him? But it isn't. At least, I don't think so. It is a novel and in truth, I know nothing about Scharansky and how his life went after he arrived in Israel. I have some vague recollections (I was living there at the time) but really not much else. Anyhow, this book is ok so far.

226torontoc
Déc 17, 2016, 8:30 am

Hi Shelley
I liked The Betrayers it was interesting.
Natan Sharansky became the head of a major Jewish agency in Israel- I think that he retired recently ( might be wrong)
enjoy your reading day!

227PaulCranswick
Déc 17, 2016, 8:31 am

>221 jessibud2: Shelley, I was gently pulling your leg but I would have a big grin if you were able to fit in and read a few in the BAC next year. xx

228jessibud2
Déc 17, 2016, 8:35 am

>Paul, no problem. I will wait till the calendar actually turns and your official BAC lists are posted (too hard to go back through your huge threads and find them now! Or maybe, I'm just lazy...!) Promise! ;-)

229PaulCranswick
Déc 17, 2016, 8:43 am

>228 jessibud2: Easily rectified - I have problem trawling through my thread sometimes too!

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE 2017

THEME OPTIONS

JANUARY : IRISH BRITONS - ELIZABETH BOWEN & BRIAN MOORE

FEBRUARY : SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY - MARY STEWART & TERRY PRATCHETT

MARCH : A DECADE OF BRITISH NOVELS : The 1960s - 10 Novels by Men; 10 Novels by Women

APRIL: SOUTH YORKSHIRE AUTHORS : AS BYATT & BRUCE CHATWIN

MAY : BEFORE QUEEN VIC : 10 Novels written prior to 1837

JUNE : THE HISTORIANS (Historical Fiction / Historians) GEORGETTE HEYER & SIMON SCHAMA

JULY : SCOTTISH AUTHORS : D.E. STEVENSON and R.L. STEVENSON

AUGUST : BRITAIN BETWEEN THE WARS (Writers active 1918-1939) WINIFRED HOLTBY & ROBERT GRAVES

SEPTEMBER : THE NEW MILLENNIUM (Great Books Since 2000) A novel chosen from each year of the new century

OCTOBER : WELSH AUTHORS (Born in or associated with Wales) : JO WALTON & ROALD DAHL

NOVEMBER : POET LAUREATES : British laureates, children's laureate, National Poets

DECEMBER : WILDCARD (Chosen via a vote) : ELIZABETH GASKELL & NEIL GAIMAN

If you want details on the books for March, May & September, let me know. xx

230maelinor
Déc 17, 2016, 8:45 am

Hi Guys and Gals thanks for your thoughts on my e-reading. I now find that it's a great way to purchase books I'll only read once as opposed to those I love so much I know I'll read again and again - then they must be physical.

231PaulCranswick
Déc 17, 2016, 8:52 am

>230 maelinor: Mae, nice to see you posting in the group and actually a very good point. Had I stuck to that rule my house would certainly be more structurally sound.

232jessibud2
Déc 17, 2016, 8:58 am

>229 PaulCranswick: - Ah! What a guy! I wondered about those months. Can we pick our own authors as long as they fall within that framework or do you already have a list from which to choose? Wow, I am embarrassed to admit that there are some authors in this list that I have not heard of. Others I've certainly heard of but have never read. Though, that's a good reason to start, isn't it? And kind-of the point, too, ;-)

Well, actually, what I just said isn't 100% true. Back in college, I took a course on Irish lit and did read Brian Moore, among others. But sadly, I can't remember which I read. Ok, I just clicked on his name and looked at his list. I do remember now that I read The Luck of Ginger Coffey and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne but still can't remember anything about them. Sheesh. I also once owned a trilogy of books by Mary Stewart but I think I gave them to my cousin, who loved fantasy, before I read them.

Ok, mission on! I will see what my library might have on audio. Love those (many!) British accents anyhow! ;-)

233PaulCranswick
Déc 17, 2016, 9:22 am

>233 PaulCranswick: No there are books selected for those three sections - if you want me to I will post them into your thread so you can readily see them, but I won't impose on you otherwise. xx

234jessibud2
Déc 17, 2016, 9:43 am

>Sure, thanks, Paul. At least that way I will have them all in one spot I can easily access. Thanks again

235PaulCranswick
Déc 17, 2016, 10:30 am

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE SEPTEMBER 2017 - BOOKS OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM







That is the first one

236PaulCranswick
Modifié : Déc 17, 2016, 10:34 am

The second one:

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE MAY 2017 - BEFORE QUEEN VIC

NOVELS PUBLISHED BEFORE QUEEN VICTORIA ASCENDED THE THRONE IN 1837

The idea is that every quarter will feature a British Books rather than simply a British Author Challenge

I am looking for ten books published before 1837 -

5 by men and 5 by women.

Women

Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (1800)
The Mysteries of Udopho by Ann Radcliffe (1794)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
Vindication on the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft (1792)
Lady Susan by Jane Austen (1795)

Men

Waverley by Walter Scott (1814)
Humphrey Clinker by Tobias Smollett (1771)
Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (1790)
Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding (1742)
Paul Clifford by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1830)

I will change the Jane Austen selection based on which one people most want to read.

237PaulCranswick
Déc 17, 2016, 10:37 am

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE MARCH 2017 NOVELS OF THE 1960S

So whilst I am waiting for the book covers to resume loading properly this is the summary of March's Selections

The L-Shaped Room - Lynne Reid Banks
A Kind of Loving - Stan Barstow
The Game of Kings - Dorothy Dunnett
The Fox in the Attic - Richard Hughes
The Pumpkin Eater - Penelope Mortimer
The Drowned World - J.G. Ballard
Up the Junction - Nell Dunn
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre
The Garrick Year - Margaret Drabble
Corridors of Power - CP Snow
Georgy Girl - Margaret Forster
Lost Empires - JB Priestley
Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
The Jewel in the Crown - Paul Scott
The Magic Toyshop - Angela Carter
The Mimic Men - V.S. Naipaul
A Compass Error - Sybille Bedford
The Undiscovered Country - Julian Mitchell
A Bouquet of Barbed Wire - Andrea Newman
The Green Man - Kingsley Amis

I hope that there is something there to suit all tastes.

238jessibud2
Déc 17, 2016, 11:09 am

Well, I certainly won't want for choice! :-) I do see a few that are familiar to me and that should be easy to get my hands (or ears) on. As for the rest, well, we shall see. Thanks, Paul, for all your hard work putting this all together.

239PaulCranswick
Déc 17, 2016, 11:37 am

>238 jessibud2: No problem, Shelley - it was for you anyway. xx

240jessibud2
Déc 17, 2016, 3:37 pm

Toponymity by John Bemelmans Marciano.

A fun little book about how names (of places) became words and words became names (of places). I sometimes wondered if the author was playing with the reader, if the brief stories behind these entries were invented or real. But then again, you know what they say about truth being stranger than fiction. The author at least has a great sense of humour. For each entry, he begins with a short, pithy *definition* ("Neanderthal -n. A person of boorish behaviour and ante-deluvian demeanor; inevitably male" or "dollar - n. -Something that used to be worth more than it is*) then goes on to reveal the history. Here are a couple of examples:

In the section on names of animal breeds: Lhasa apso - Another dog with a long-held religious gig is this terrier from the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, a breed that has been sounding the alarm in Buddhist temples since 800 BC (which is 17,660 BC in dog years)

He has another section on food: ...Hamburgers were once called Hamburg steaks, after the city in Germany, while French fries evolved from French frieds, short for French fried potatoes. Both underwent wartime renaming, the former called Liberty Steaks during World War I (mostly out of patriotism) and the latter called Freedom Fries at the onset of the Second Gulf War (mostly out of stupidity).

Anyhow, it's an entertaining and relatively quick read, if you enjoy language and etymology. The book is also sprinkled with fun illustrated maps.

241vancouverdeb
Déc 17, 2016, 5:45 pm

Toponymity sounds really interesting, Shelley and a great review! I see Paul has been suggesting books to you. I can say I've enjoyed Restless, Pigeon English, The Memory of Love, Longbourn and Girl on A Train from @235. Have a great weekend!

242kidzdoc
Déc 17, 2016, 8:23 pm

Nice review of Toponymity, Shelley. That does sound like a fun read!

243jessibud2
Déc 19, 2016, 9:31 pm

I finished 2 audiobooks in the last couple of days. One was The Betrayers by David Bezmozgis (wrong touchstone). It was about an Israeli political official, who was a former Russian dissident. He is involved in a scandal and leaves the country and his family to escape for a bit till the news dies down. He and his young mistress fly to Russia, where he comes face to face - by pure chance - with the man who betrayed him and sent him to prison for 13 years, over 30 years ago. The entire story (6 discs) unfolds over the course of 24 hours and was pretty interesting. The narrator (whose name I can't remember) was quite good.

The very short one I started and finished this afternoon (only 2 discs) was Anne Lamott's Help, Thanks, Wow. I have to say, anything that is even remotely *religious* in any way is usually something I steer clear of. Just not my thing. But because it was short, I thought it was a good idea to go outside my comfort zone a bit. It was ok. Funny in parts, clever, witty and real, as well, though sometimes it felt a bit over the top. But may I just repeat something I've said many times before: not all authors are good readers. This would be such a case. As a narrator, I thought she was a poor choice. She sounded flat, stilted and I am happy, for that reason alone, that it was only 2 discs. But I am glad I listened to it.

244msf59
Déc 19, 2016, 10:18 pm

Looks like you will be book busy, for 2017! I hope to see you around. Smiles...

The Betrayers sounds promising. I have taken note.

245EBT1002
Déc 22, 2016, 6:34 pm

>235 PaulCranswick: and >236 PaulCranswick: and >237 PaulCranswick: This is very helpful. I think I can at least join in the fun in September!

Hi Shelley!!

246EBT1002
Déc 23, 2016, 4:32 pm

Shelley, I'm just dropping off this holiday wish....

247jessibud2
Déc 23, 2016, 7:09 pm

>246 EBT1002: - Thank you, Ellen. And all the very best to you, too. Merry Christmas!

248msf59
Déc 23, 2016, 7:19 pm

Merry Christmas, Shelley! I hope you have a wonderful holiday planned.

249vancouverdeb
Déc 23, 2016, 7:21 pm

Merry Christmas, Shelley! Have a wonderful holiday!

250jessibud2
Déc 23, 2016, 8:09 pm

>248 msf59:, >249 vancouverdeb: - Thanks, Mark and Deb. All the very best to both of you, too!

251jessibud2
Modifié : Déc 23, 2016, 10:14 pm

Island: The Collected Stories (wrong touchstone).

I listened to this 4-disc audiobook this evening. Alistair Macleod is a Canadian master of the short story and these are read by a variety of actors, including Gordon Pinsent. I am not generally a fan of short stories but these are good stories, if rather bleak, at times. Macleod explores human relationships, especially of the working class people of his native Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. His narrators are men, children, housewives. His tone is introspective, almost hypnotic, and his descriptions are atmospheric and detailed. The listener is easily transported.

I also have a novel of Macleod's, called No Great Mischief which I will move up on my tbr in 2017. Macleod died in 2014

252PaulCranswick
Déc 23, 2016, 10:11 pm



Wouldn't it be nice if 2017 was a year of peace and goodwill.
A year where people set aside their religious and racial differences.
A year where intolerance is given short shrift.
A year where hatred is replaced by, at the very least, respect.
A year where those in need are not looked upon as a burden but as a blessing.
A year where the commonality of man and woman rises up against those who would seek to subvert and divide.
A year without bombs, or shootings, or beheadings, or rape, or abuse, or spite.

2017.

Festive Greetings and a few wishes from Malaysia!

253PaulCranswick
Déc 31, 2016, 6:54 am



Looking forward to your continued company in 2017.
Happy New Year, Shelley

254johnsimpson
Déc 31, 2016, 5:19 pm

Happy New Year Shelley my dear.

255vancouverdeb
Déc 31, 2016, 5:51 pm

Happy New Year, Shelley! All the best in 2017!

256Smiler69
Modifié : Jan 7, 2017, 12:51 am

I'm posting for Shelley, who, poor dear, has been locked out of her LT account since the holidays. She's been trying to get her account back via LT staff, but things are really dragging on. She's tried opening a temporary account and is blocked from doing that too. I'm sure we can all imagine how frustrating that must be, especially since you can't post to LT unless you have an actual account! Hopefully this will get resolved without further delay... keep the hope alive, Shelley! ♥︎

257vancouverdeb
Jan 7, 2017, 1:04 am

Thanks Ilana, for that information. Keeping your thread warm for your return, Shelley.

258jessibud2
Jan 7, 2017, 10:47 am

Thank you, Ilana and Deb, I have finally succeeded and managed to barge back into LT. My new thread is under construction:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/246012

259jessibud2
Modifié : Jan 7, 2017, 9:19 pm

Although it is already a new year, this was my final read of 2016 so I guess I should post my review here.

Loving Vs. Virginia was an ER book and a most enjoyable one (if one can say that about such an awful time in recent history).

This lovely hard cover book was, despite it physical weight, a quick read. The style used by author Patricia Hruby Powell was an interesting mix of graphic novel (combining illustrations with text), journal entry narrative in free-verse poetry, as well as actual photos and reproductions of court documents, and a timeline of events, at the end of the book. There was much about this landmark case that I had not known and, as often happens to me when reading such things, it inspired me to google or try to learn more. Loving Vs. Virginia is a story not only of 2 people who loved one another and just wanted to be married and live their lives, but it is as much a story of human rights as it is of civil rights in the United States in the 50s. Richard and Mildred Loving were not militants, they were not loud protesters; in fact, they were rather quiet, ordinary young people who tried to obey the laws and just live with dignity, but were treated as if they were criminals. Which, under the barbaric laws of their time, in their home state of Virginia, they actually were, for it was against that state's law for two people of different races to marry. For 9 years, they are forced to live outside of their state, and were not permitted to enter Virginia together as husband and wife. Today, this sounds crazy but I think what horrified me almost as much as anything else, was to read in the timeline at the end of the book that the state of Alabama was the last of the states to reverse the anti-miscegenstion law, in the year 2000!!!

On another note, I saw the film *Loving* just a few days before reading the book. The film was well done, I thought; the acting quiet, understated. But after reading the book, I realized that there was much about the background of the actual case, and their lives, to some extent, that was missing in the film. I think reading the book first would have enriched the watching of the film, and I wonder if film-goers who went in not knowing anything about the case, would have got as much out of it. I am really happy that I was able to read this important book and learn more.

260SqueakyChu
Jan 7, 2017, 11:34 pm

>259 jessibud2: That sounds like a worthwhile read!